


Why Don't You Love Me?

by coolandcreativetwo



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: F/M, Post-Movie(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2017-11-26 12:38:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 45,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/650601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolandcreativetwo/pseuds/coolandcreativetwo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a year since a certain someone with sparkling blue eyes and snow-white hair visited Rapunzel's isolated tower, and now she lives in the kingdom under her rightful title as a princess, but every day, her heart asks. . . will he ever come back? Inspired by the Youtube video.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cold, Cold Heart

"Absense makes the heart grow fonder? Yeah, of someone else?" ~ Wendy Webb

"Hey, Blondie." Rapunzel jumped and spun around, her arms flailing as they tried to grasp an absent frying pan.

She giggled in embarrassment when she saw that the sudden break in her silence had been orchestrated by none other than the kingdom hero Eugene Fitzherbert, who was formerly known as the fugitive thief Flynn Rider. An irritating strand of golden hair flopped into her eyes, and she tucked it back, smiling at one of her two closet friends. The other one was perched on her shoulder, teasingly poking her, and no doubt, lightly scolding her for acting so uptight.

She laughed. "Hi, Eugene!"

Pretending to be upset, Eugene crossed his arms and frowned, whispering, "Aww, Blondie, don't use my real name."

Rapunzel shook her head and rolled her eyes. She turned back to the window, staring out over the icicle-laced town, and beyond that, the frozen wide, beautiful, teal sea. Her green eyes narrowed as she stared at the horizon.

Eugene watched his fiancée with a bit of confusion. "Rapunzel?" He asked.

His smile faded and his eyebrows raised as he stepped toward her. Leaning over to look her in the eye, he saw her gaze become cloudy. Strange, he thought, because Rapunzel's eyes never became dull or cloudy.

They only grew brighter and brighter, and Eugene sometimes thought he was staring at the sun itself than a princess who held some of its' powers. Her powers were more than just lovely singing, glowing skin and hair, or even the magic of healing. Eugene would notice that even when she was in a rare glum mood, her presence could brighten up everyone else's day.

Sometimes, he swore that he could see her in the dark, just by the glow of her golden skin. Animals befriended her, nervous people calmed in her presence, and normally bold and brash people averted their eyes as if her gaze would burn through them. Perhaps the tower, now with its' limited sunlight, had been dulling her powers? Eugene realized, with a small chuckle and a shrug, that he too had gotten lost in thought.

"Rapunzel," he softly called, laying a hand on her shoulder.

Pascal, who had been admiring the scenery outside, nudged his longtime friend, and perkily squeaked.

She jerked out of her stupor and sheepishly grinned. "Sorry, Pascal, Eugene, I was just thinking..."

Her voice trailed off, and Eugene would have bet every dollar he'd ever made, from stealing or otherwise, that her glow dimmed a bit.

A heavy thought was clinging to her heart, and knowing her, everything of her was as stubborn as Maximus.

"Thinking? About how handsome I am, suppose," Eugene said, smirking and throwing an arm around her shoulders.

She grinned up at him, and his heartbeat sped up. He looked closely at her skin, noting that it seemed not only a bit dimmer because of her thoughts, but dimmer because...

"Rapunzel, when have you last been outside?" Eugene asked.

Rapunzel shrugged as she studied her bare feet. Pascal answered the question for his friend by slightly frowning and shaking his head. The message was quite clear, Rapunzel hadn't smelled fresh air in a while.

"You need to get out more," Eugene jokingly laughed, trying to steer her toward the staircase, but Rapunzel stiffened, her eyes wide, and to Eugene's shock and horror, they seemed to be brimming with tears.

"You need to get out more," Jack said, twirling the magical staff between his fingers as he grinned at her.

Rapunzel blew out some air and smiled at the floor. As she clasped her hands around her back, she began to pace.

"I don't know," she said softly. "Sorry for all the questions. I always wanted to know about the outside world, and all Mother will tell me is how horrible it is out there."

She watched Jack amble over to her window and stare at the ivy curtain separating her tower from the outside world.

"It's a tough world, Punz," Jack agreed, his sharp blue eyes swiveling to look at her. "A very tough world, but it's the good things that make the world worth living in."

Rapunzel's curiosity and longing filled her, she had to know.

"The good things?" she asked shyly, tiptoeing toward him. "Like what?"

Jack turned to smile at her, and she felt a strange, fluttery feeling in her stomach, like the twirl of a skirt.

He leaned against the wall and whispered "Snow, for one thing."

A tear fell from Rapunzel's eye.

"Oh," she gasped. "I've. . . I've never seen snow, at least , not up close."

Jack stared at her, with his back straightening "Really? Never?"

The look that he gave her told so much; the spinning, cartwheeling descent of a perfectly symmetrical snowflake visualized in her mind. She could almost feel the tiny thing on her fingertips, and she impulsively lifted her fingers into the air, as if catching one. Jack smiled at her, a secret seeming to cling to his pale lips.

He too lifted his fingers, and suddenly, snowflakes tumbled down from the ceiling of the tower. Rapunzel gasped, and for a long moment, she simply stared up, with a warm sound of delight spilling from her lips. She twirled around the room, trying to cradle every snowflake in her hand, but the moment that a snowflake touched her tingling fingers, every snowflake vanished.

Trying hard to force down a wave of tears, Rapunzel jerked around to stare at Jack pleadingly. He frowned, with his shoulders tensing as he tried to make it snow again, but there was a lack of cold. Rapunzel thought back to the conversation they had shared not twenty minutes ago, a small argument that began when he found out that she had never ventured outside.

He had tried to convince her, while she had tried to pry details about the world from him, but this longing to feel fresh, beautiful snow filled her mind. . . and convinced her. She looked at him straight in the eyes, with her spring green ones speaking volumes to his winter blue ones.

Jack grinned. "Well, we don't have all day," He said, gesturing to the window beyond. "Let's go!"

Rapunzel shook her head to clear it of the old memory, and felt tears scatter across her face. She tried to stop the flow, but quickly realized that was pointless. She missed Jack. It made her spurt out a sob, and she stopped rubbing furiously at her eyes.

"Rapunzel!" Her eyes widened to see Eugene, with his nose just an inch from hers as he frantically yelled her name and squeezed her shoulders. "Rapunzel, can you hear me?"

Rapunzel wildly looked around, spotting anxious guards surrounding them. She heard thundering footsteps and her parents calling her name. Pascal clung tightly to her neck and almost fell off when she swung her head around. The crying Princess cupped her left hand around the little chameleon. She stroked him with her fingers and he squeaked to let her know that he was okay.

"I-I-I am s-s-so s-sorry," she gasped, her stuttering and tears making her cheeks warm from embarrassment.

"I j-j-just got l-lost in an o-o-old m-memor-r-ry, a-and-" a fresh wave of tears slid down her cheeks as Jack's face popped up in her mind.

Eugene stared at her in horror, no doubt wracking his mind for ways to help her.

"Let me through," Rapunzel heard a woman's voice say, as the guards straightened and backed away.

A smile of relief tugged at Rapunzel's lips for a moment when she recognized her mother breaking through the concerned crowd. Another fresh wave of tears formed, and Rapunzel collapsed into her mother's open arms. She whimpered, through her mother's thick winter robes which smothered her, and she could hear her mother issuing orders to the guards.

"Back up, back up, everyone! The Princess must be alone, if you please."

Rapunzel actually felt like giggling for a moment. Even when her daughter was sobbing in the middle of a hallway, Queen Primrose kept her manners perfectly intact. The urge to giggle disappeared, and Rapunzel tried to sniffle through her clogged nose.

"Come on, guys," Eugene said loudly, with his now brittle voice cutting through the dense cotton. "You hear Her Majesty."

"I second that," which came from the voice of Rapunzel's father, King Thomas, and that spurred the guards into action, and through her whimpers, she heard the thunks of many well-polished boots fading down the hallway and staircase.

"Come on, dear," Queen Primrose said, lifting Rapunzel's chin, so that they locked eyes, and the Princess felt Eugene's clammy hand slide into hers, and squeezed her hand.

She squeezed back a little, and a strange feeling stirred inside her. Perhaps it was the chilly weather, perhaps it was that she was getting cold feet after being engaged for six months, since the death of Mother Gothel. Rapunzel desperately wished that it was Jack who was holding her hand.


	2. No Light, No Light

"A flower cannot bloom without sunshine, and man cannot live without love." ~ Max Mullen  
\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Slowpokes!" Jack yelled over his shoulder, sprinting down the road toward the large hill.

He could hear the excited panting and giggling of little kids chasing after him.

"You want to get to the hill before your moms notice, don't you?" He asked.

This gave the children a burst of energy, and Jack craned his neck to see them gaining on him. Laughing, he sped up, and at the foot of the hill, he stopped and turned around. The kids- Ruthie, Parker, Mark, Anthony, and Krista - surrounded him, while holding their sleds close to their chests. Krista giggled and tugged at Jack's hoodie, and when he smiled down at her, she grabbed his hand, and pulled him up the hill, still giggling.

Anthony bounced along, chattering. "And know what? One time. . .one time, we went to Uncle Jimmy's house, and it. . .and it was snowing, so Uncle Jimmy, he took us sledding!

The small boy's eyes widened as he stared up to in wonder to Jack. "Did you make it snow there too?"

Jack nodded. "I'm always the one behind the snow, buddy," he said softly.

Krista stared up at him in delight, with her flushed red face beaming. When they finally reached the top, Jack looked around at the small neighborhood, the ice and snow covered townhouses, and the trees donning their icicles, and he knew that this was why he loved the snow.

Anthony whooped excitedly, as he slapped his sled onto the matted grass poking out from the snow, and yelled at the others to hurry up. Before Jack could leap down the hill, he felt another tug at his hand, and looking down, he saw the trembling Krista.

"I dunno if I can," she whimpered, with both of her tiny hands wrapped around his own.

Her big green eyes fearfully peered through her cherry red bangs.

Crouching down next to her, Jack brushed her bangs away and gave her a smile, saying "You can."

Krista's chin firmed, and nodding, she dropped her sled on the ground and hopped onto it. Jack wiggled his fingers, and a burst of wind pushed her down the summit. He laughed, as he listened to her squeals of delight.

"Told ya so." He howled down the hill, and she briefly glanced up at him, to which he waved.

"Ay, Jack, you go now!" Mark yelled, while haphazardly waving his arms from his spot at the bottom of the hill.

Jack nodded, and then, sliding a sled from beneath a child's boots, he planted his feet on the board. After a bit of wiggling, Jack and the sled went speeding down the hill, and he could hear the cheers of the other children. Suddenly, he jumped and curled into a ball while grabbing the sled with both hands, and then he was flying over the hill and excitedly shouting children.

Tossing back the sled, Jack waved to them as he continued to fly. He frowned a bit, seeing that the wind was carrying him toward a grove of trees with spear-like branches. With a snap of his fingers, Jack lowered himself to the ground, and he had to leave soon, since China could never have enough snow, but one more launch from the hill wouldn't hurt anybody.

"Jack!" He heard one of the kids call frantically. "Jack, where were you? Krista's hurt!"

Sighing, the boy slid through the snow, and toward the crowd of children that gathered a few yards from the edge of the hill. He could hear Krista sniffling, and shoving through the crowd, he could now see Krista curled up on the ground, with a little gash on her cheek. Jack knelt down next to her, and cradled her face in his hands. Rubbing a thumb over her wound, and ignoring her cries, he let cold, clean water wash out her wound. Next was a newer trick, and he concentrated with his eyes shut.

Slowly, the boy felt the weather around him in his inner being. With his mind, he climbed toward the sky, and finally found what he had been searching for, which were snowflake tendrils. Taking the barest threads of snowflakes, he knitted Krista's flesh back together, closing up the wound. Faintly, Jack heard Krista's cries die down, and opening his eyes, he returned to the physical world, to see the children around him with wide eyes and mouths. Krista's hand slid into Jack's once again, and he looked at her in the eyes, seeing the awe and thankfulness in her heart.

The little girl faintly smiled at him. "You won't leave me, will you?" She whispered.

Jack opened his mouth to answer, but he could feel a memory coursing through his being, and as he closed his eyes, there it was. . .

"You won't leave me, will you?" Rapunzel yelled.

Jack stretched back to look up at her, while still perched on the windowsill of her tower window. He almost laughed at her jittery nature, and what was there to be nervous about?

"Of course not," He yelled back, and then blinked. Why had he said that?

Usually, he only stayed in a certain place for half an hour at most, which was enough for him to stir up the weather and play around a bit. Staying anywhere didn't really appeal to him, but now, he actually felt like staying here, and for a good while too. Jack wanted to stay with her, and he wanted to stay with her for a very, very long time. Obviously, this worried him a lot, and he antsily bounced on his toes. His mouth now seemed to be saying complete nonsense.

"I'll stay here for a while, you know, unless you want me to leave. I wouldn't be very happy with that, of cour-" He slapped a hand over his mouth, feeling his cheeks flush a little.

This shocked Jack, and he lifted a hand to his now blue and even more freezing face.

"What did you say?" Rapunzel shouted.

Having hooked her hair to the tower, she clung to it and leaped over to peer down at him. Jack couldn't clearly see her from such a distance, but he could imagine her face. The faint freckles dotting the bridge of her nose, with her dark gold eyebrows that curled ever so slightly at the ends, and her bright green eyes with the dash of brown in them-

He blinked himself out of his thoughts "Come on, we don't have all day," he yelled back up. "Do you want your mom to find you doing this?"

Rapunzel retreated back into her tower, and Jack scowled, shaking a fist, frustrated at his own idiocy. She'd never come out now, and he glared at his toes, but then. . .

"Whee! Ohh, Ohh!" With a surprised grin growing on his face, Jack looked up to see Rapunzel sliding down on her rope of golden hair.

He laughed, studying the euphoric look on her face. She leaned back a bit, staring up at the sky and giggling in amazement, and then she noticed the ground rushing up to meet her. Gasping, she yanked at her hair and suspended herself barely a foot about the ground.

Jack stepped closer. "Come on," he murmured beneath his breath, with his eyes locked on her nervous face.

She extended a foot out of the folds of her pink dress and hesitantly brushed the grass with her toes. The foot found the ground and landed on it, while her other foot quickly joined it. Jack looked at her face, which was one filled with wonder. She looked up at him, and for the first time ever, he felt like freezing himself. Jack couldn't move, and what scared him was that he wasn't even sure he wanted to move anyway.

"Jack?" Parker asked, while poking the boy in the arm.

Jack rapidly blinked, bounced on his toes, and then frowned. Where had that memory come from? He looked at the children staring curiously at him.

"I. . ." He glanced down at little Krista, who was blinking away tears. "I guess I can stay a little longer," he said, while trying to revive the jovial move.

Indeed, the children forgot all about their worry and charged up the hill, yanking worn sleds behind them. Ruthie helped pull Krista to he feet and the two ran after the others. A smile forming on his face, Jack watched the children continue their winter activities. He tried to remember what it felt like being a normal child, but sadly, he failed, but wondered faintly if he missed that.

Jack wrung his fingers around his staff, and with a finger, he traced the webbed lines etched throughout it. The staff seemed to glow from under his touch, and this thing had been with him through everything. . .including, he realized with a huff of cloudy air, his very first crush. How liberating to finally admit it, but had his crush ever landed, and was it really just a crush?


	3. Angel in the Snow

"I have the found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love." ~ Mother Teresa

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Rapunzel was awakened by a loud, wet sniffle, and she blinked her eyes several times to banish the blurry quality of her sight, and smiled at what she knew was Maximus' nose, hovering above her face.

"Hello, Maximus," She said, untangling a hand from her bed covers to stroke him, to which he whinnied softly, and sat down next to her bed.

Spreading her palms out on her bed, Rapunzel pushed herself up and looked around the room. She could see that the townsfolk had heard of her nervous breakdown, which is why her room was filled with every type of flower that the people could find at this time of year. Yawning, she tickled the air above her head with outstretched fingers, then leaped out of bed, and Maximus smiled at her perky early bird charm.

"Pascal? Oh, Pascal, where are you?" Rapunzel said in a melodic voice, and out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a lily turn bright red, and then, bright purple, and finally, bright yellow.

"Ah, there you are!" Rapunzel cheered, spinning and scooping her laughing little friend up in her hands.

Smiling back, Rapunzel began to investigate her room turned greenhouse. "Look at this! Pansies! Zinnias! Morning Glories! How can anyone find these flowers in winter?"

Pascal scurried up her arm and onto his normal spot on her shoulder to take a look, shrugged, and then the little chameleon turned to glance at Maximus, and both of them knowingly rolled their eyes. Rapunzel jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she spun around, while Pascal squeaked in protest as he clung to her shoulder, to see her mother kindly smiling at her.

"Oh, hi, Mom!" Rapunzel said, blushing at her embarrassing reaction, threw her arms out, and swung them around, gesturing to the flowers surrounding them. "Can you believe all these flowers?

Queen Primrose shook her head and chuckled. "I can see you are enjoying them. Please be sure to tell the townsfolk when they're not busy shoveling the streets."

Rapunzel saw Maximus widen his eyes, stand on all four legs and shuffle his hooves, seemingly sheepish about something.

"Oh, I'll definitely tell them," Rapunzel said, then comprehended the rest of her mother's words. "Shoveling the streets? Why?"

She looked from Pascal, who shrugged, to Maximus, who did his best to shrug, to her mother, who smiled and fondly squeezed her daughter's shoulders.

"Dear, did Maximus not tell, or ah, show you?" Queen Primrose asked, turning to look at Maximus, and if the horse could look any more embarrassed, he sure did right now.

Rapunzel frowned. "No, but I didn't give him much of a chance to show me anything. I was too busy looking at the flowers." The princess explained, and when the queen turned back to Rapunzel, Maximus shot her a grateful look and the princess giggled.

"But, show me what?" Bouncing on her toes, she looked around the room. Was there something beyond the flowers?

Queen Primrose chuckled. "Take a look," she said, gliding to the windows. "Maximus, dear fellow, would you mind helping me with the curtains?" She asked, while kindly smiling at the horse, whose composure had returned.

As he joined her at the other side of the obscured window, Rapunzel blinked in surprise, since she hadn't noticed that the only light sources were candles placed sporadically around her chambers. Spinning to face the window, Rapunzel grinned as Maximus closed his teeth on one golden curtain rope, and her mother delicately grasped the other.

"One. . .two. . .three!" Queen Primrose said, as the two yanked their cords, and Rapunzel was greeted by a city draped in white.

"Snow!" The girl squealed, rushing to the window and fogging the panes with her breath, while Pascal squeaked in delight and leaned forward.

Queen Primrose joined the princess, laying a hand on the girl's other unoccupied shoulder. "So, what do you think of your first snowfall?" The woman asked.

"So, what do you think of your first snowfall?" Jack asked, breaking their gaze and spinning around.

Rapunzel hopped up and down in the dried grass, gasping at how wonderful, yet how cold, everything was. She giggled at the snow falling around her; it was so. . .different, and the air! She twirled around, forgetting that her hair was still attached to the hook above her window.

"Ah-Ah-Ah!" Rapunzel yelped, yanking her hair off the hook and promptly crumbling to the ground in surprise.

"It's all so cold. . .a-and fresh. . .and everything is new!" She looked around, with her hair in a pile beneath her.

Rapunzel looked up at Jack, and she noticed how his hair was the perfect shade to match the snow. It seemed symmetrical, as each strand curled a bit at the end, all was different, like the snowflakes themselves. Suddenly, something small and white obscured her vision, and she wildly blinked. As she shook her head back and forth, the girl noticed that Jack was laughing.

He knelt at her side and smiled. "You have snowflakes in your eyes." He said, cooly, wringing his staff with pale fingers.

"Eyelashes, I think," Rapunzel sweetly corrected, and slowly fluttered them, trying to the get the flakes out of her vision.

When she looked back at Jack, he had the strangest and most awestruck look on his face.

"What is it?" She asked, slightly tilted her head as she curiously stared at him.

He shook his head and shrugged. "Aw, nothing," The boy said as he stood up. "Wanna look around?"

The boy glanced down at her and grinned. Marveling at his energy, almost like hers, Rapunzel jumped up and ran ahead toward the ivy gate. She heard the wind pick up, and craned her neck to look behind her. She gasped and laughed as she watched Jack speed by on the back of the wind. He winked at her and whooped as he sped past her.

Rapunzel stopped short, and again, she left the flutter of a skirt in her heart. She wondered about it, but quickly put it behind her when she saw that Jack was standing by the grassy wall. He bounced around, impatiently motioning for her to hurry, and the girl put on a burst of speed and joined him there. With a motioning bow, he pulled back some of the vines to create a gateway to the cave. Rapunzel giggled and after cautiously peering through it, she extended a foot forward and began her hesitant walk through the cave, but to where?

"Let's go, Jack Frost," She said and began to run. "We have so much to explore!"

Rapunzel felt her face glow as his cheery laughter echoed behind her.

Rapunzel blinked away happy tears as she stared at the somehow familiar snowflakes darting through her kingdom. Her fingers rested on the glass, and she knew that if she kept thinking about Jack, the tears of sadness would dribble down; it was winter.

"You promised that you would come back, "Rapunzel mouthed. "You promised, but where are you, Jack?"

Queen Primrose draped a dainty arm across the girl's shoulders, with her kind eyes studying Rapunzel's face. "Dear, what's wrong?" She asked.

Rapunzel looked at her bare toes. "This isn't my first snowfall," She said quietly, and stroked the window.

"And Eugene. . .was not the first boy." She whispered this so quietly that the queen leaned forward to hear it.

When Rapunzel looked at her mother again, she was shocked to see tears in the queen's eyes, and then, both women hugged. Maximus trotted forward and laid his snout on their heads, while Pascal curled up in the crook of their elbows. The wonder of winter continued outside, with the four all staying together, as silent and still as the snow.


	4. Lady of Light

"Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within." ~ James A. Baldwin

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Jack smirked as he pushed a large pile of snow off the roof, and with a loud bang, the pile hit the almost completely cleared driveway. The red-faced man below howled in frustration and scurried toward the pile, waving his large shovel up in the air. Jack laid down on the roof and happily watched the man slave away at the mess.

Normally, he didn't torture adults this much, but this one. . .this one was special. With a snap of his fingers, the snowflakes came tumbling down again. The man shook a fist at the sky and began shoveling harder than ever.

Jack leaped off the roof and began stomping at the snow shoved to the sides, scattering snow across the driveway, He glanced frequently at the windows of the house, which showed a scared teenage girl cowering inside. He could see the bandages on her forehead, which was where her father had hurled his empty bottle of beer at her.

With his jaws firming in anger, Jack made the snow fall harder and faster. The longer this freak was working outside, the longer his family would have to take a break from him, and the more tired the man himself would be. After several more minutes of ruining the man's work, Jack sprinted across the lawn, and toward the backyard.

He stopped to break a particularly large icicle off the gutter and happily licking it. There was a large cooler on the icy patio, and Jack spotted it immediately. He strode over to it, shoved the lid off, and stared down in hatred at the many gold-tinted bottles collected in there.

With a large puff, the contents of each and every bottle was frozen solid. Jack heaped snow from the yard on top of the bottles, and then with his mind, knitted the snow together so tightly that nothing and nobody could dislodge the bottles from their new prison.

Nodding, Jack looked up at the swirling silver clouds above his head, bent his knees, readying himself for the jump into the sky, when out of the corner of his eye, he noticed movement. Jack jerked his gaze down to see a small toddler and his mother staring at him in shock, and his eyes widened, because grown-ups usually didn't believe.

The tired mother gave a thin smile, and mouthed out the words, "Thank you."

"Thank you," Rapunzel mouthed at him as he held a branch back for her to walk forward.

He smiled in return, and for once, deciding not to say a word as a response. Jack simply watched her twirl around the trees, giggling and running her toes through the snowdrifts. She stopped, sucked in a cool breath, and cartwheeled along.

When she stood up again, she giggled. "Jack," she called softly. "You try!"

Jack smiled and cartwheeled after her, and he was now standing just inches from her. She smiled widely at him, and he shrugged meaninglessly, while trying to force his feet to step back. They eventually obeyed, but he was surprised at how reluctant he was to move away.

Jack felt worse when he saw Rapunzel's shoulders slightly drop. She looked down at her toes and tugged at a lock of her own hair. Glancing around, Jack smiled nervously, and worried over what to say to her.

"So," he said, huffing out a white cloud, "What you do want to do, besides enjoy the snow?"

Rapunzel's cheerful glow returned, and she excitedly bounced on her toes.

"I don't know, but there's so much to do!" She gasped, as something lit a spark in her eyes.

Biting her lip, she shyly tugged at her hair again. "I. . . I've heard sledding is fun. I don't know much about it, but. . ."

Jack grinned widely. "Don't worry, you'll love it," he blurted out, while nodding enthusiastically.

Immediately, he spun around, with his eyes searching through the forest for a good sled.

"We need a sled first, but it can't be that hard to find one." Jack added.

He noticed that she had snowflakes in her eyelashes, and stopped to watch her eyes widen, and then, her eyelashes fluttered again. Shivering and shaking his head, he dove over to a huge tree and curled his fingers beneath cracks in the bark. With a loud, echoing crack, he ripped a huge slice of bark off the tree and proudly grinned at Rapunzel. She laughed and gave a round of applause, clapping her hands. Peering through the trees, Jack tried to pinpoint exactly where there was a good hill.

Rapunzel looked back from where she had come. "There's a small hill near the tower."

Jack nodded, and then an idea quickly blossomed in his mind.

"Hey, wait," he said, dropping the bark to the ground. "Sit on this."

Rapunzel flopped down and neatly crossed her legs, with her eyes gleaming with curiosity. With a twist of his wrist, the wind dove beneath the "sled" and pushed it up above the treetops. Rapunzel squeaked, and her fingers became pale, as she gripped her sled.

"Calm down," Jack said, carefully controlling the wind. "I won't drop you." He added, and propelled it toward the tower.

Rapunzel laughed in delight, and slowly lifted her hands in the air, wiggling them in the freezing breeze.

Jack also laughed, but his jaw dropped when he heard her call "Jack, the sled's big enough for two!"

He jumped on the breeze and sped by to hover by her side, while she giggled and scooted forward on the sled. Jack eyed the vacant space behind her, and half of him wanted to be free, to fly on his own. However, the other half of him won over by reminding him of things he didn't quite understand.

Hesitantly, he dropped his knees onto the sled, and Rapunzel nodded. "Good job!" She said.

Jack felt himself leaning down, and he sucked in a quick breath as his arms dropped across her shoulders and hung, clasped together, in front of her. The lower he leaned, the closer his head was to hers, and finally, his lips were right next to her ear.

"Hi." Jack whispered.

Rapunzel quietly giggled. "Hi."

Jack lightly slapped his cheek and smiled at the pair of the perplexed mother and her daughter in the window. He waved to them, while sheepishly ruffling his hair, and then the wind yanked him into the sky.

He closed his eyes and listened to the prayers of a thousand children in a thousand different worlds. "Snow, snow, snow!"

Where to go? His heart tugged him toward a familiar tower, but he bristled at the thought. He couldn't go back, he never could, and this hurt him as he doubled over, slowly feeling himself sink down on the ground. In an effort to calm himself, he began pushing the wind, and himself towards Southeast America.

Surely, he tried to convince himself, believing that shocking the locals and delighting their children with a surprise snowstorm would be fun. However, Jack still found himself imagining Rapunzel by his side, flying on her sled, and talking about all the places she wanted to visit. Bowing his head, he sighed at the earth below and continued on.


	5. Confessions

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." ~ Dr. Seuss

"Dear, if it's alright with you, could you please tell me about your first snowfall, and. . .your first boy too, because I'm sure that you would feel much better if you talked about them with someone. You know that you can tell your mother anything, right?" Queen Primrose asked.

"I know, Mom, but before I tell you what's been troubling me, could you please ask Pascal and Maximus to leave first. It's not that I don't want them around, I just think that they've seen enough of me so upset already, and if you wouldn't mind. . ." Rapunzel answered.

"Of course," Queen Primrose replied, before turning to face the horse, and the chameleon who was now standing on top of the horse's head.

"Maximus, Pascal, the princess would like to talk with her mother in private, so could both of you please let us be alone in this room right now?" She requested.

Maximus nodded his head, and Pascal hung on tightly as he turned around and headed for the door, the queen closed it shut once they went through. Queen Primrose walked back to her daughter's bed, where she slowly took a seat, while Rapunzel instantly crossed her legs, and wiped away any visible tears.

"To be honest with you, Mom, my first snowfall and my first boy are actually connected in a way. In fact, I wouldn't have had that snowfall if it wasn't for him, and the snowfall happened while I was still living in that tower deep in the woods, and this boy isn't from here in Corona.

I know when I ask you this, it's going to sound silly, but I'm going to come out with the question anyway. Mom, have you ever heard of Jack Frost?" Rapunzel asked.

She waited for her mother to give a response until the queen started to slowly shake her head and slightly frowned.

"I can't say that I have. . .wait, do you mean the expression 'Jack Frost nipping at your nose', because I'm sure that I heard it from my own parents when I was younger. Did that woman who kept you inside that tower for all those years say it to you, because it isn't such a bad thing to hear." Queen Primrose assumed.

"I'm not talking about the expression, and besides, Gothel has never said it to me before. Jack Frost is an actual person I met when he visited the tower, and you can never get to see what he truly looks like until you believe in him, because he's a Guardian, the Guardian of Fun, to be exact." Rapunzel mentioned.

"I see, so because you have seen Jack Frost, can you be able to describe him for me? I understand if you don't want to, if it's too hard, considering that it must have been a very long time since you saw Jack." Queen Primrose said, while trying her best to understand what she was hearing from her daughter.

"Jack has white hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. He's tall, but he's also thin, and always goes around barefoot. Jack wears a blue hooded sweater, or in shorter terms, a hoodie, with frost covering around the ring of the collar and pants bound with lighter material starting from the knee down to the end, while the bottom of the pants are rather tattered. He carries around a magical staff, resembling a cane, and it's very important, because it helps him control his incredible weather powers, which are calling and riding the wind, conjuring ice and snow, making images drawn on the frost in window panes come to life, and it's his job to be spreading the feeling of fun and joy for kids around the world."

Rapunzel still couldn't believe that she remembered so much about Jack, and was able to describe him so easily, but all it did was make Rapunzel miss him a lot more. Even though she felt like crying again, she knew that would have to happen another time, especially since she couldn't tell more about Jack Frost to her mom while in tears.

"It's good to know not only that Jack can do a lot of amazing things, he's also a very important person to the world, there's still something else that I need to know, and I understand if you don't want to answer this question, but did you develop any sort of feelings for Jack while he visited you?" Queen Primrose asked.

Right when her mother asked her that question, Rapunzel immediately started to feel another memory of her time with Jack coming into her head. While that was happening, everything that was around her completely began to get blurry, including even her mother who was not so far away from her.

"I'm so glad we did that, Jack! It was a lot of fun!" Rapunzel shouted in excitement, as Jack smiled back at her, with his feet being slightly off from the ground.

"Well then, if you liked it so much, would you like to go sledding for a second time? I'm sure that it won't take long this time," Jack suggested.

He flew down to pick up the wooden slice of bark from the snow covered grass. "Besides, we could just use this big slice of bark for the sled again." Jack added.

"Maybe we could do something else, like how about we play a game while using the snow that's around us. Since it was you who created it, Jack, do you have any suggestions?" Rapunzel asked.

"Actually, I think I do, Punz, I'd like to know first, have you ever had a snowball fight?" Jack asked, while landing his feet on the ground, and looking in her direction.

"No, Jack, I can't say that I have, so I'm sorry to tell you that I don't really know how to make a snowball, but is it a lot of fun to have a snowball fight?" Rapunzel questioned.

"Oh, trust me," Jack smirked, as he dropped his staff down, and made up a snowball from a small pile of snow that he picked up from the ground.

Jack blew on it, causing the snowball to turn a magical shade of blue.

"You're gonna have a lot of fun," He added, and with that said, Jack threw the snowball right in Rapunzel's face.

The cold, wet snowball that Jack threw at her had left a blue, magical mark, and the blue magic oozed from the snow. The look on Rapunzel's face went from shock to joy, and she began laughing. Jack picked up his staff to make up a fresh ammo of snowballs for the two of them.

"Alright, you're going to get it now, Jack Frost!" Rapunzel shouted, as she grabbed a snowball.

Her hand shivered with the cold touch of the snowball before throwing it in Jack's direction. Rapunzel was hoping to get him back, and was disappointed to see that she missed, but she wasn't that surprised. Even though she was dealing with a young teenager, just like she was, he also happened to have magical powers over the weather of winter with his staff.

No matter how hard she was trying, Rapunzel just couldn't seem to hit Jack with at least one snowball, and that wasn't so much fun. The smile on Jack's face quickly vanished and he soon dropped the snowball that he was holding in his hand. He could see that Rapunzel had both of her hands covering up her face, which must have meant she wasn't happy with how the snowball fight was going so far, and didn't want to play anymore.

"Hey, Punz, are you okay? Did you get hurt, or something?" Jack asked, wondering how the magic from the snowball wore off so quickly.

As he kept slowly walking towards the girl, Jack didn't yet find it the slightest bit strange to see Rapunzel bending down to the ground while still covering up her face. Rapunzel brought one of her hands down from her face, and what Jack didn't know was that Rapunzel was secretly looking around for a snowball. Luckily for her, it didn't take that long, so when Rapunzel managed to have the snowball in her grasp, and saw that Jack was much closer to her, she stood up. Rapunzel instantly brought the other hand down and threw the snowball, which hit Jack right in the face, knocking him to the white ground on his back. Jack looked up to see that Rapunzel was laughing, but it was kinda more like giggling, since she was trying to hold in her laughter, but it wasn't working that much.

"I can't believe it! You actually tricked me! I mean, for a moment there, you actually had me worried that you were very upset," Jack said, as he began to get up from the ground.

"Now if you don't mind, Punz, could you please help me? You got me pretty hard with that snowball." He added, while lending out his hand.

Rapunzel was able to put an end to her giggling, when she started to think that the trick she pulled on the boy had actually gone too far.

"Jack, I'm sorry if you got hurt, I didn't mean to hit you so hard. It's just that I felt like I wasn't getting much of a chance to have any fun." Rapunzel replied.

"Can you ever forgive me?" She asked, walking over to Jack, and kindly held out her hand for him to grab, while giving a look of remorse and sorrow.

"Of course, I can, and besides, it hasn't been the first time that I'd been hit in the face with a snowball, so it's not such a big deal now." Jack answered.

His hand reached up to Rapunzel's and just as they grasped together, Jack pulled his hand back very hard, causing Rapunzel to fall into his arms.

"Whoa, Jack, what do you think you're doing?" Rapunzel asked, before moving her head to look at him, and became flustered with how close they were now.

"My center is fun, and so it's important to me that's what you're going to be having a lot of today, no matter what. Okay?" Jack questioned.

"Okay," Rapunzel replied, as she grabbed a pile of snow from off the ground, and threw it in Jack's face before she burst laughing once again.

"Alright, now you're asking for it!" Jack declared, grabbing a bunch of snow himself with both of his hands, and dropping it on the top of Rapunzel's head.

"Oh my goodness, it's freezing!" Rapunzel responded, as she shivered from the snow which came down and melted into her hair and onto her face.

"What did you expect the snow to feel? Warm and toasty like the sun?" Jack asked, and lightly pushed Rapunzel with her back to the ground.

"It feels just like my body temperature, and trust me, you wouldn't want to feel. . ." He trailed off, when he noticed that the girl's face was unusually near his.

Although Jack couldn't believe that he was at a loss of words again, he could understand the reason why, and it was right in front of him, staring back. Jack began to feel Rapunzel's soft, warm breath on the cold, pale skin of his face and neck, and his mind was completely erased with a great wash of blankness. Their eyes locked together, as the pair drew ever nearer...closer and closer...with their lips almost touching...until...

"Rapunzel, can you hear me?" The young princess started to hear a voice which didn't belong to Jack, since it most likely sounded from a woman.

She slowly opened her eyes to see that the voice was coming from her mother, who had a look of worry and concern on her face.

"Are you alright, dear?" Queen Primrose asked, gently stroking her daughter's hair. "You were out for quite a while, I was worried sick!" She added.

Yes, Mom, I'm okay now, and I don't need to be left alone again, because I was just thinking about another memory with Jack." Rapunzel answered.

"In that case, do you want to keep talking about him, or would it be better for you to get some rest right now, instead?" Queen Primrose asked.

"Don't worry, Mom, I can have some much needed rest for another time, so anyway, didn't you ask me a question about Jack?" Rapunzel questioned.

"Yes, I did, and I believe what I asked you was did you develop any sort of feelings for Jack while he visited you?" Queen Primrose replied, asking again.

"Not only did I develop feelings for Jack, but I'm positive that he developed feelings for me too during the time we spent together." Rapunzel responded.

"So that explains why you've been feeling so upset all this time, you miss him very much, but Rapunzel, could I ask you another question?" Queen Primrose asked.

"Of course, what is it, Mom?" Rapunzel answered, while although being a little bit worried about what her mother would be asking her this time.

"Do you still love Eugene enough to marry him?" Queen Primrose asked, and Rapunzel was at a complete loss of words with how to answer that question.


	6. Going Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I would like to apologize for keeping all of you waiting for so long. My ROTG one-shot "Date Night" with Jack and Tooth is finally done, and I'd really appreciate it if you could read the story sometime. I remember just before the credits for ROTG began, a dedication was made to William Joyce's daughter, Mary Katherine, who died from a brain tumor in 2010. I decided to make a dedication of my own and introduce an OC named Joyce, or 'Joy' for short, and from reading this chapter myself, I should find a way to bring her back later on in this story, especially from the way that she comes as a big help for Jack. If any of you have some ideas, please feel free to let me know.

From riding the gusts of wind up in the sky, Jack finally reached his destination, being one of the states in Southeast America, which happened to be Georgia. He made a swing with his staff as he flew across the roofs of the houses and their front yards, covering them with fresh amounts of cold ice and chilly snow. Jack let out a chuckle in delight when he could see that children and teens were already coming out of their homes, being properly dressed for the weather.

In a matter of only a few minutes, all kinds of different groups were spending time outside in the town; friends, families, and especially, couples as well. The smile on Jack's face eventually vanished as he continued to witness many couples, young and old, looking quite happy together in their neighborhood. It quickly became very hard for Jack to be watching all of these pairs of two humans do fun things such as ice skate, make snow angels, and snowball fights.

Even though these winter activities were happening far away from Jack, since he was still flying high above in the sky, he could clearly see them with his eyes. It was immediately causing the winter spirit to imagine both him and Rapunzel also being one of the couples having so much fun together while playing in the snow. The more that Jack kept thinking about the two of them sharing those moments, the more that his entire body was lowering down to the ground covered in white.

"Think fast!" A voice shouted out, and before Jack could even look around to discover where that voice had come from, he got hit right in the face with a snowball.

Although, the snowball didn't strike Jack hard enough for him to be thrown on his back to the ground, which has happened before, and he wiped the snow off his face.

"Thanks so much for bringing the snow to us, Jack! I really thought that we would never get to have this kind of weather in our town. You're the best!" The voice added.

Jack could easily tell that the voice belonged to a girl, and when his eyes were finally clear of snow, he saw that the girl looked young, but also quite pretty as well.

She was almost as tall as Jack, had long brown hair, which was covered up with a red toque, and she also wore a grey winter coat, making her perfectly comfortable.

"No problem, and I must say that I'm impressed with you already, since you really know to throw a snowball, but do you have any friends to play with?" Jack asked.

"I used to have a lot of friends, but they either moved away or we grew apart, so I'm hoping that the snow will help me connect with new people," The girl answered.

"I'm glad to hear that, and trust me, I understand how it's really important to have not just friends in your life, but also a family, because otherwise. . ." Jack began.

"Your life would be miserable, because it's filled with loneliness, nothing else," The girl said, and Jack's eyes widened while his jaw almost dropped with what he just heard.

"Oh, I don't think that I've introduced myself earlier, my name is Joyce, or just 'Joy' for short," Joy added, before she lent out one of her glove-wearing hands.

"Even though I've heard a lot about you, it's nice for us to finally meet." Joy said, while still having her hand out for Jack to shake, to which he did, and smiled back.

"Yes, it is, so Joy, this might not be any of my business, but are you expecting anyone else to hang out with you, like someone who's more than a friend?" Jack asked.

"If you're asking if I have a boyfriend, then the answer is no, but I did have one not so long ago, and we were very happy when we spent time together." Joy answered.

"Really, so how come it didn't work out between you two?" Jack asked, while he still couldn't believe that he was making conversation with someone that he just met.

"He decided to enlist in the Army, saying that he wanted to make his family proud, and I thought it was such a crazy idea, with how dangerous it would be." Joy replied.

"Well, if you two were so happy together, then I don't think that he wanted his relationship with you to be over, so does he even keep in touch with you?" Jack asked.

"He promised that he would call me if he got the chance, but I haven't heard from him ever since he left, and I can't help but worry about him every day." Joy responded.

"How long has it been since he enlisted in the Army, because wait. . .if you want, I could stop asking questions, and we can talk about something else." Jack suggested.

"No, it's okay, I don't really mind talking about this, especially since it's been a while when I talked with anyone about him, and he's been away for six months." Joy said.

"Wow, it must be hard for you not to think about him all the time when he's been away for that long, but if it helps, I do believe that he's still alive out there." Jack replied.

"Thank you, Jack, that really does mean a lot to me," Joy said, before coming forward and giving him a hug, to which Jack returned the affection and embracing her too.

"So anyway, I think that we've talked enough about my relationship," Joy added, letting go from their hug, while taking a few steps back. "So let's talk about yours."

"What do you mean, Joy? My what, exactly?" Jack asked, and although he understood what Joy was asking, he just wanted the girl to be a little more specific for him.

"What I was asking about is your relationship, Jack. Even though you're busy spreading winter around the world, there must be somebody who you're able to spend time with." Joy replied.

"Now that you mention it, there's this young boy named Jamie, who was the very first child to believe in me, and we now have a brotherly bond, if that's what you mean." Jack said.

"That's good to know, so do you have plans to visit him, and if so, does he happen to live close by?" Joy asked, even though that wasn't the answer she was expecting to hear.

"Actually, he lives in a small town called Burgess, which is over in Pennsylvania, and he has a sister named Sophie, who I'm sure will be happy to see me too." Jack answered.

"I'm sure that they can't wait, but what I was actually asking is, do you have a girlfriend, and you don't have to tell her name, considering that I didn't give you one." Joy said.

Right when Jack heard Joy say the word 'girlfriend', he didn't hear the rest of what she said, because his mind already went back to Rapunzel again, and the time that they spent together. Jack remembered that there was a certain moment between the two of them which happened after a snowball fight he started near her tower, and suddenly, the memory was all coming back to him now. . .

"Jack," Rapunzel said, while slowly bringing her head up to whisper in his ear. "I'm feeling really cold right now, so I should probably go back in the tower and get changed."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," Jack replied, as he gave Rapunzel more space. "I'll just wait out here until you come back or maybe it might be best for me to leave," He suggested.

"What? No, Jack, please don't go." Rapunzel said, grabbing his arm to stop him from going any further. "Thanks to you, I've been having more fun than I've ever had, so would you like to come inside the tower and look around?"

"Are you sure that your mom isn't going to be coming anytime soon? I mean, what if she sees me, and wait. . .she has to actually believe in me to do that, so. . ." Jack trailed off, as he started to think about it for a while.

"Jack, trust me, it's not going to be a problem," Rapunzel responded, as she lent out one of her hands for Jack. "Oh, I'm sorry, but could you please help me up?" She asked.

"Of course," Jack answered, and as he grabbed her hand, she quickly felt the coldness of his own and also noticed how pale it looked, but didn't bother in saying anything about it.

"You're going to love it when you come inside my tower, Jack. Painting is my favorite hobby, and that's why I've managed to paint almost of the walls." Rapunzel explained.

"Wow, that sounds great!" Jack said, as he walked beside the long-haired blond toward her home, and now, he was absolutely sure that he's spent a lot more than a half hour with Rapunzel by now.

Both of them eventually realized as they came closer to the tower that the only way to get inside was through the window which was high above them, but Jack didn't really see that as a huge problem. He walked a little more to have his body come in front of Rapunzel, and slowly bent down, but when Jack turned his head, he could see that Rapunzel was watching him with a confused look on her face.

"Hey, Punz, I was expecting you to hop on my back right now, so I could fly the two of us back up to the window, unless you have a better idea of getting up there?" Jack asked, with curiosity in his voice.

"I honestly thought that I would be able to use my hair, but I think that the hook is too far to reach from down here, so it seems like you have the better option." Rapunzel answered.

"Now that I've heard that, climb aboard, Punz!" Jack announced, as he bent down once again, and this time, to the boy's relief, he felt Rapunzel's body come onto his back.

To get herself even more prepared for the flight, the long haired girl wrapped both of her arms around Jack's chest, linked her hands together, and finally, closed her eyes.

"Are you ready, Punz?" Jack asked, while being as patient as he ever could be with her, since he didn't want Rapunzel to get hurt, and it would be awful if that even happened.

"Yes, Jack, I'm ready." Rapunzel answered, and with hearing her words, Jack quickly flew up to the window of the tower and went inside it as fast as possible, before landing on the floor with his bare feet.

"Alright, Punz, you're back inside the tower now," Jack mentioned, and Rapunzel slowly opened her eyes to take a look around before climbing off from Jack's clothed back.

"Thanks for helping me get back in here, Jack, and it's obvious that your way was so much easier," Rapunzel replied, before she looked down to see that her dress was wet from all of the snow it touched.

"So anyway, feel free to take a look around, while I get changed, and I promise that I won't take long," Rapunzel added, while facing Jack, before turning around and walked up the stairs to her bedroom.

Jack kept her eyes on Rapunzel until she went through the curtains, and he was soon amazed of all the things he was seeing in the tower, from the kitchen near the stairway to the giant mural across the walls. As he flew up to get a better look of the art, Jack was impressed by how much effort Rapunzel had put into the detail and color of the things in the mural, such as the birds, the trees, and all of the leaves too.

"So, what do you think?" Rapunzel asked, but not before she stepped through the curtain, and walked out of her bedroom in a new purple dress, but was surprised to see Jack floating high above the floor.

"Sorry, Punz, what did you say?" Jack questioned, while turning to her direction. "I was just looking at this mural you've made, and I have to say, it looks pretty awesome." Jack added,

"Thanks, Jack, and I've been working on it ever since Mother gave me that paint set, and what I asked you was what do you think of the dress I'm wearing?" Rapunzel asked, as she did a playful twirl.

"I think that it looks good on you, and I'm no expect with any kind of clothes girls wear, but isn't that the same dress you had on earlier, or am I just imagining things?" Jack questioned.

Jack quickly flew down to where Rapunzel was standing to get a closer view of her dress, and he became sure that the only difference was that this one wasn't wet from snow.

"This is the same dress, but it's actually a different copy that I made myself, because Mother told me that it's best for me to design more than one dress in case I get one dirty." Rapunzel explained.

"That's a good idea, and I can't say that I'm able to do that for myself, since I hadn't really changed out of this hoodie in at least a decade, and these pants really just stick with me." Jack mentioned.

The boy's eyes quickly grew wide for a moment when he thought that he had shared too much information, and didn't believe that Rapunzel really needed to know how long he's been wearing these clothes.

"You know, I do have a sewing machine, as well as lots of material for me to make new outfits, so if you want, I could try to create something new for you to wear?" Rapunzel suggested.

"Thanks for the offer, Punz, but I'm just fine with the clothes I have on, and if it's okay with you, I'd like to see what your room looks like, but I understand if you don't want to show me." Jack responded.

"No, it's okay, Jack, I'd love to show you my room," Rapunzel said, as she turned around to face the curtain, but stopped, and turned around again to face the Winter Spirit.

"Oh, wait, I almost forgot, there's a friend of mine that I want you to meet, and I was actually telling them all about you while I was changing in my room." Rapunzel added.

"Wait a minute, someone besides your mom has been living in here with you too? Is this person your brother or sister, because maybe I could get them to see me too." Jack said.

"To be honest, Jack, I don't really have any brothers or sisters, and this friend isn't a human like you and me, but have you ever heard of a chameleon?" Rapunzel asked.

"No, Punz, I can't say that I have, but I'm guessing that a chameleon must definitely be an animal, right, and this isn't a dangerous one, is it?" Jack questioned.

"Don't worry, the only thing that my friend can do is stick his tongue in your ear, and you may not see him right away, because he's able to change colors." Rapunzel mentioned.

"That sounds really cool, Punz, but if your friend wants to have his tongue feel ice cold, then I don't think it's such a good idea for him to do that." Jack said.

"I'm pretty sure that he won't, because he'll only do that to people he doesn't trust, but so far, he hasn't ever had a chance to do it, so anyway, please follow me." Rapunzel replied, as she grabbed a hold of Jack's hand, and led him through the curtain. . .

"Hey, Jack, are you alright? Can you hear me?"

Both of these questions obviously came from a young woman, but as Jack slowly started to open his eyes, he could now see that it wasn't Rapunzel who said them.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Joy, but what just happened? Did I pass out or something?" Jack asked, as he got up from the ground, and started to look around for his staff.

"I believe this is what you're looking for," Joy answered, as she handed over his staff to Jack. "I wouldn't ever want to let this out of my sight if I were you."

"Don't worry, Joy, I don't plan to let that happen," Jack said, while giving a twirl of his staff. "So anyway, I remember that I just asked you a question."

"Oh, right, thanks for reminding me." Joy replied, before thinking for a few seconds. "Yes, it seemed like you did pass out, but I thought that you must have been sleeping." She added.

"If you're a Guardian, you don't really need to eat, sleep, and you won't come down with an illness like humans do, but I wasn't actually sleeping." Jack said.

"Well, Jack, if you weren't sleeping, then what was going with you for the past five minutes, because your eyes were closed the whole time." Joy responded.

"My mind was just going back to a memory from when I was spending a lot of time with a girl in the past, but she's not actually my girlfriend." Jack explained.

"I know that it might not be any of my business, but do you still keep thinking about her, and if so, does that make you miss her even more?" Joy asked.

"Yes, and I still remember the place where she lives, but that's not the worst part, it's that I can't ever go back there and see her again." Jack answered.

"What, why? Did her parents tell you that, because I think that it would be hard to stay away if you're spreading winter around the world." Joy reminded.

"No, it's not that," Jack replied, shaking his head. "The problem is that I'm immortal, and she's not, which means that we're never gonna. . ." Jack began, but trailed off.

"Do what?" Joy asked, and she could already tell that Jack was getting emotional, from how he had his eyes to the snow covered ground, and was gripping his staff too.

"We're. . .we're never gonna get married, have children, and especially, grow old together, so she shouldn't be with me if she wants to have all of that." Jack replied.

"Did you tell her that's why you couldn't be any more serious with her, or does she still believe that you two have a chance to be together?" Joy questioned curiously.

"I don't think that it was like we were dating when the two of us hung out, but I did promise that I would come back and see her, but I still haven't." Jack responded.

"Jack, exactly how long has it been since you last visited this girl?" Joy asked, while starting to wonder if the girl was thinking about Jack right now, wherever she was.

"A year." Jack answered, and even though he had said those two words almost like he was whispering, Joy was able to hear them, and her eyes widened when she did.

"Wait a minute, you haven't seen this girl for a whole year? Well, if it's been that long, and you know where she lives, then go out there and find her." Joy said, urging.

"Whoa, I can't just leave, Joy! I still have to spread winter for the rest of this town, and as soon as that's done, I need to head off to a few more cities." Jack responded.

"Listen to me, Jack, if you have any kind of feelings for this girl, if you even care about her at all, then you should fly out of here, and find her right now." Joy insisted.

Just as he was prepared to argue with Joy about this, Jack's mind went to Rapunzel, and how she must have been feeling for all this time over the past twelve months. For as long as Jack could remember, three hundred years to be exact, he was isolated and lonely, having no one to talk to, or spend time with, because nobody could ever see him. Sure, Rapunzel had her mother, and an animal that apparently could change into different colors, she had no contact from the outside world, that is, until Jack came along. Before Jack found the tower on that day, Rapunzel didn't know what it was like to both see and feel the wonderful snow that he creates for every country in the world. From the way that he left, with also promising that he would come back to visit her again, Jack was now sure that he didn't want to have that promise remain unfulfilled.

"You know what, Joy?" Jack questioned, as he looked up to face her. "You're absolutely right, I really like this girl a lot, and so I want to make it work with her." He stated.

"Jack, I'm so happy to hear that!" Joy squealed while jumping up in excitement. "Before you go, I just want to say thanks again for bringing the snow here." She added.

"Your welcome, Joy, and thank you for convincing me to go out there and find her, and so I promise, if things work out between us, I want you to meet her." Jack said.

"Really, Jack, you'd introduce me to her?" Joy asked, barely containing her gleeful emotions. "Wow, it would be so great to meet someone who's personally spent time with Jack Frost himself." Joy added.

"Yeah, and maybe, your boyfriend might be coming back from the Army very soon, and then, the four of us could all hang out together. What do you think?" Jack suggested.

"I think that would be awesome, and in order for that to happen, I suggest that you tell her all about me and my boyfriend being in the Army, right?" Joy questioned.

"Don't worry, I will, and one more thing before I go, could you please tell me what's your full name, because that would come really important to me." Jack requested.

"My name is Joyce Leldan Fields, and I live in Thomasville, Georgia, since I thought knowing exactly where I live will also manage to help you out too." Joy replied.

"Yeah, I'm sure it will, and once again, thank you so much." Jack said, as he came forward to give Joy a hug, before taking off into the sky to head for Rapunzel's tower.


	7. To Marry or Not?

Since Rapunzel wasn't actually able to come up with an answer for the question her mother had asked her, she thought it was best for her to be alone for a while, so that way, she could have some time to think, but what was there to think about? It was usually a rare occasion whenever her and Eugene had any problems, and even when those events happened, things between them would soon be resolved, no matter what the issues had been for them. Eugene had always been able to make Rapunzel so happy, even way before six months ago, when he proposed to her while they were out on the lake, having a romantic boat ride under a beautiful starry night sky. From bubble baths and foot massages to outdoor picnics and leisurely walks through the woods, there was never really a dull moment for the two of them, but there wasn't any rush for the couple to get married either.

Although it was important for Rapunzel to get adjusted to her dutiful role as a princess, she didn't see the need in tying the knot with Eugene right away, even though she couldn't help but frequently dream about it happening. When Rapunzel would be ready to start planning, she'll most likely want help from the thugs at the Snuggly Duckling pub, with looking for a cake, flowers, and a dress, and she'd also want them to do the music for the event too. Rapunzel knew full well within her heart that she loved Eugene, she was in love in him, and he was the love of her life, but she just didn't understand why she couldn't reply back easily when she was asked if she still loved Eugene enough to marry him. Maybe the girl was afraid that she wouldn't feel safe and protected after they became husband and wife, but that wasn't ever the case, since she'd always feel that way every time she was in his arms after she had a terrible nightmare.

It wasn't like Rapunzel could be just able to call off the wedding or at least have it postponed for a while only because she missed a barefoot, blue-eyed, white-haired, hoodie wearing teenager who she recently began thinking of constantly. Even though she didn't spend as much time with Jack as she did with Eugene in the past, Rapunzel still considered Jack to be important to her, especially from the fact that if it wasn't for him, then she wouldn't have finally gotten the courage to leave the tower for the first time. Rapunzel was sure that if Jack visited her again, then the two of them could manage to get closure, because Jack did promise that he would come and see her again. Even though it's only been a year now, Rapunzel was still hoping that he didn't ever forget about the promise he made to her, and that he would come back to her.

Suddenly, the princess had started to get worried of what her mother must be thinking right now from all of the things that Rapunzel told her about Jack earlier. What if her mother thought that she just made everything up in her head, or that Jack was only a figment of her imagination that she created while living in the tower? Maybe Rapunzel should have said something different to explain why she's been feeling so upset lately, but she would have felt awful if she went ahead and lied instead. Rapunzel also wondered if her mother would possibly either tell what she's been told about Jack to her father and Eugene, or keep all of it a secret from both of them.

Eugene might probably get upset and assume that his fiancée didn't want to marry him because she was thinking about another guy whom she had met before him. If her father found out about Jack, then he would most likely want to meet the boy, but unfortunately, that couldn't happen right away, due to the fact that Jack was off spreading winter in another part of the world. On the other hand, what if her mother had decided to keep everything about Jack a secret from them and was going to wait until she had been told by Rapunzel whether or not Eugene and her father should know about Jack. Rapunzel had started to relax as she thought about it more, and she became a lot more certain that her mother wouldn't just go out, find each of those two men, and tell them about Jack without having her daughter there.

Suddenly, another thought had come to Rapunzel's mind, being what if Jack had already come to Corona earlier, and given the kingdom the same snow that Rapunzel had saw outside the window not so long ago. Maybe Jack was heading to the tower because he believed that Rapunzel was still living there, but she couldn't help but wonder of how Jack would be feeling when the boy couldn't be able to find her inside at all. Rapunzel had just started thinking of getting herself dressed in much warmer clothing and going outside to the tower, but not without having the help of Maximus taking her through the forest to get there, when she froze memory from her time spent with Jack in the tower was now beginning to come back to her, and Rapunzel checked quickly to make sure that she was in her bed before letting the memory run through her head...

"Oh, Pascal, could you please come out," Rapunzel asked, as she went through the curtain to enter into her bedroom. "There's someone here who I'd like for you to meet."

As Jack came into the room too, what immediately caught his attention wasn't the four poster bed or the large wardrobe either, but it was all of the paintings done high above on the ceiling.

"So, Punz, is there any part of this tower that you haven't painted already?" Jack asked, while still looking up at the ceiling. "Have you painted in your mother's room?"

"I asked Mother if I could, but she said no," Rapunzel answered, turning to face in his direction. "She didn't want the walls of her room looking like something out of an art gallery." Rapunzel added.

"Has your mother ever taken you to an art gallery, because I came across a town, or it's really more of a kingdom since it has a castle, and I'm sure that it must have a few art galleries for you to see." Jack said.

"Mother never told me that there was a kingdom nearby, and no, she hasn't ever taken me to an art gallery before, but Jack, what is the name of this kingdom anyway?" Rapunzel asked curiously.

"I remember that it's called 'Corona', and I don't know why, but they seem to have a symbol of the sun in almost every part of the kingdom, and there's also this huge. . .whoa, what is that?" Jack asked.

Rapunzel could see that Jack was now looking down at the floor, and when the girl looked down too, she let out a scream of happiness and excitement to see a familar green chameleon on the floor.

"Pascal, there you are!" Rapunzel said, while bending down a little to pick him up from off the floor, and put him on top of her left shoulder to stand on, before turning her head to face Jack.

"It's about time that you showed up, and you're never going to believe this, but I actually left the tower for the first time, but I didn't do it on my own, someone came and convinced me to finally do it!" Rapunzel added.

The chameleon was squeaking in delight to hear the news, and also squeaked in disappointment that he wasn't with Rapunzel while she had spent her time outside, but he still wanted to know who was it that got her outside.

"This person is actually right here with me now!" Rapunzel announced, before looking over at Jack. "I'd like for you to personally meet the one and only Jack Frost!" Rapunzel added cheerfully.

Unfortunately, to the girl's surprise and the boy's discomfort, all the chameleon did was raise an eyebrow, and look back at Rapunzel, wondering if she was either losing her mind or had come up with a new imaginary friend.

"I don't think that your lizard can see me, Punz, especially if he has a look like that on his face, but maybe I should show him proof that I exist, so you wouldn't mind if I made some frost on a part of your wall?" Jack asked.

"First of all, he's a chameleon, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd remember that, and second, I'm not so sure, Jack, like what is my mother going to think if she walks in here and sees icy frost patterns?" Rapunzel questioned.

"For your information, Punz, a lizard is the kind of species that a chameleon comes from, and didn't you say earlier that there was nothing to worry about? I mean, it's not like she still comes in to read you bedtime stories, right?" Jack asked.

"Well, no, she doesn't do that for me anymore, but Jack, isn't there anything else that you can do which won't make a permanent mark in this room? You know, like something that can easily disappear?" Rapunzel requested.

"Alright, Punz, but first, I just have to think of something that both of you would like to see..." Jack said, before trailing off to think for a moment, until his eyes widened, and a smile came upon his face, meaning that he had an idea in mind.

"Yes! I came up with something, but I'd like for you to put Pascal on one of your shoulders, so that he can get a much better look at my creation." Jack insisted, and so he waited patiently until Rapunzel did what he asked her to do.

The winter spirit closed his eyes, slowly concentrating on his powers, and soon enough, he was forming a few objects in his hands, but Rapunzel and Pascal weren't sure of what these objects were exactly until they all took a more specific shape.

"Wow, they're so beautiful, Jack, but could you please tell me what they are?" Rapunzel asked, before turning her head to see that Pascal had a look of amazement on his face upon seeing the frost made objects that were floating in front of them.

"You see, the King and Queen of this kingdom called 'Corona', they had a beautiful baby girl, a Princess, but not so long after her birth, she was kidnapped, and everyone in the kingdom searched long and hard, but none of them were able to find her.

The King and Queen honoured their missing daughter by having not just themselves, but also the people of the kingdom release floating lanterns on the night of her birthday each year in hopes that one day, their lost princess would return." Jack explained.

"That's terrible! For someone to just take a newborn child away from their parents, and not have any remorse for doing so, all it does is make them such a cruel and selfish person, but how long ago was it when the Princess was kidnapped?" Rapunzel asked.

"I think that it was about seventeen years ago when it happened, and the kingdom has this huge mural of the King and Queen holding their daughter, and you won't believe this, but if you saw it, you'd think she actually looks an awful lot like you." Jack replied.

"She does, but how is that possible? I think that I would know if I had a sister, but Jack, what features does she have that makes her look like me?" Rapunzel questioned.

"Well, not only does the girl have blonde hair, but she also has green eyes, just like you, but do you think it's possible that she's your twin, you know, like two girls who are related, but look exactly alike?" Jack asked.

"I don't think so, and besides, if I actually had a twin, then Mother wouldn't have kept it a secret from me, and I'm sure that she'd want me to know my sister a lot better, but since I don't have one, that can't happen." Rapunzel responded.

"Hey, Punz, what color is your mother's hair and eyes, because I found that when someone is born, they'll sometimes have the same eye and hair color as their parents." Jack said, as he was getting more eager for Rapunzel's answer.

Before she could even say anything, both her and Jack heard a squeaking sound come out from Pascal, and he seemed to be very happy, as he was jumping up and down on Rapunzel's shoulder, while pointing a finger toward Jack.

"Isn't this great, Jack? Pascal can see you now!" Rapunzel said excitedly, then turned her head to look over at the chameleon. "Jack had been showing us what those 'floating lights' really are, they're lanterns!" She added.

While Rapunzel was telling her friend the rest of what Jack had said to her, the boy began putting together the facts that he knew about the lost princess of Corona and the facts that he knew about Rapunzel. The lost princess was born as a blonde with green eyes, just like Rapunzel, and she was kidnapped seventeen years ago, while Rapunzel had been living in a tower, and the path to find it was covered by a curtain of plants.

"Excuse me, Punz," Jack said, so that he would get the girl's attention. "While I really do think it's great that your small green friend can see me, I was hoping if you could still answer the question I asked you." He reminded.

"Oh, Jack, I'm sorry, you asked me what color are my mother's hair and eyes," Rapunzel said, thinking a few seconds. "She has curly black hair and gray eyes, so there's your answer." Rapunzel replied with a bright smile.

"Thanks, Punz, but I just have one more question to ask, and it's this, have you always managed to see the lanterns from this tower on your birthday every year?" Jack asked.

"I've seem the lanterns come up into the sky ever since I was about four years old, and I've always had this feeling that they were meant for me." Rapunzel answered.

"Maybe it's because they are, and Punz, I know that it's going to sound silly when I ask this, but do you think it's possible that you are the lost princess of Corona?" Jack questioned.

Rapunzel thought about Jack's question for a while before her eyes widened, and a smile grew on Jack's face, as he believed that the girl had realized who she truly was. . .

The princess' eyes shot open, as she got up from her bed, and took a deep breath, while running a hand through her hair, as she couldn't believe what that part of the flashback had shown her. If it wasn't for Jack, then Rapunzel never would've got to know that the 'floating lights' were lanterns and they were always meant for her, but how could she manage to forget all of that later? The more that she thought about it, the more angry that she had become with herself for telling her mother about Jack, especially when the Queen wasn't even a strong believer in him.

Neither was her father, Eugene, or anyone else in this whole castle for that matter, but did she really think that they would all be okay with her missing a winter spirit that didn't exist to any of them? What's more, is that every time Rapunzel thought of Jack in the past, it would always end with her feeling sad, lonely, and miserable, which is why she didn't want to feel those emotions anymore. She knew that Jack was immortal, which meant that he wouldn't be there to grow old with her, and he was the spirit of Winter, meaning that he had an important job to spread that season around the world.

Maybe the reason that Jack hasn't ever come back to see her is because that he had either forgot about her, or simply moved on in order to focus on bringing lots of fun and joy to children everywhere. Rapunzel did meet the boy back when she was living in the tower, and that was a time when she had been a bit too naive to believe anything, such as Mother Gothel being her real mother for all those years. The princess had always felt that after she left the tower for good, her life had finally begun, but with all of this waiting for Jack, it was like she was going to let her whole life pass her by, but she didn't want to do that.

She didn't want to be frozen in time, or holding her breath, or become like a statue and cost herself the chance to marry a man with whom she could raise children, celebrate anniversaries, and grow old together. With all of that being thought over, Rapunzel got herself out of her bed, came out of her room, and looked through the castle to search for Eugene and her parents, and luckily, it didn't take so long for her to find them. Rapunzel found the three all sitting together in the living room, and as soon as they saw her, each of them quickly got up from the furniture and stood to face the princess.

"Oh, sweetheart, it's good to see you," Eugene said, while taking a step forward. "I wanted to see how you were doing, but your mother said that you needed a little more time to yourself." He added kindly.

"Yes, I did, and I'd just like to say how sorry I am for having all of you worried so much, but there's no need to be concerned anymore, because I'm feeling a lot better." Rapunzel said, before walking over to her mother.

The princess brought her arms out so that she could give her a hug as a thank you. "So did you tell them what I told you about Jack?" She quietly whispered in the queen's left ear, since she wanted to know right away.

"No, I didn't, dear, not unless you wanted me to," Queen Primrose replied by whispering back in her daughter's left ear, and then calmly waited to hear what her response was.

"Please don't, Mom, because none of it was real, and everything that I've told you only came from dreams that I had while living back in the tower." Rapunzel explained.

"Okay, if that's what you want, then I won't tell them, and like you just said, you don't want to have any of us being worried about you, right?" Queen Primrose asked.

"Thank you, Mom." Rapunzel answered and before she came out of the hug, she said another thing. "By the way, I thought about what you asked me earlier, and the answer is yes, I do love Eugene enough to marry him." She added.

"I'm so glad to hear that, dear." Queen Primrose said, and when she let her daughter go, a smile grew on her face while she walked over to her husband and happily embraced him.

"Eugene, I want you to know all of that time I spent in my room alone has only made me a lot more certain about marrying you, and what I'd like more than anything is for that to finally happen, so what do you say?" Rapunzel asked.

"I say that I'd love to marry you as soon as possible, but I'd want for you to have the wedding of your dreams, so there will need to be a lot of planning to go into the wedding before it can happen, if that's alright with you?" Eugene questioned.

"Don't worry, Eugene, I'm completely okay with that, and I'd like for the wedding to happen in the spring because that season will have much better weather for the event, so could we get married in. . .late April?" Rapunzel suggested.

Right after she said that, Eugene put both of his hands on each side of his fiancée's waist, lifted her up from the floor, and twirled her around in the air for a moment, before bringing her down so that he could give her a passionate kiss. Rapunzel felt great while locking her lips with Eugene's, as she knew that when they kissed at the altar in a few months, then it would mark the beginning of a brand new chapter in her life, while leaving another one behind as well. She didn't need to have Jack Frost in her life anymore, and now, it didn't really matter to her whether he would be coming back to see her or not, but what she didn't know was that Jack was a lot closer than she thought he would be.


	8. Dead Flowers

Jack should have been feeling so happy that he was going to meet Rapunzel again, and catch up with her, but instead, he was worried that she would be upset with him. She had a right to feel that way, considering that before he visited her tower a year ago, the only people that she spent her time with were her chameleon and her mother. Even though Jack knew he had a job as a Guardian to spread fun and joy to children around the world, he did make a promise to Rapunzel that he would come back to her. It's not like he was neglecting his duties and responsibilities, since he would only stay with Rapunzel for about an hour at most, and then get back to giving out snow days.

When the tower had finally come into his view, Jack flew around until he saw the window and once he got himself much closer to it, he noticed something to be very strange. The flowers on the windowsill were dead and uncared for, like they haven't been given any sort of attention for months, and Rapunzel wouldn't just leave them all to die. What's more is that the shutters were closed, but the sun was still out, so that meant either Rapunzel had wanted to get some sleep early, or she was feeling quite sick. Jack really hoped that the latter wasn't true, and he couldn't handle knowing if Rapunzel was ill, and he didn't bother on visiting and finding a way to help her get better.

Hesitantly, he pushed open the shutters slowly, before going inside the room and setting his bare feet down on the floor, which happened to be a lot more dusty than usual. This was also very strange, considering that the floor was absolutely clean and spotless the last time Jack saw Rapunzel, as if she always liked to sweep it twice every day. What Jack saw when he looked up from the floor was a horrible sight, as the girl's full-length mirror was toppled, with the shattered glass of it scattered all across the floor. His heart began to race much faster as Jack moved around the room, with the faint glow of his shepherd's crook like staff illuminating the circular room of the dark tower.

Jack wasn't very good at feeling heat, but he could tell that there hasn't been any warmth in the tower for a long time. Not the stove in the kitchen, and not the fireplace. Besides the floor being dusty, it was also devoid of any footprints, and there was long-rotten food on the table, which was so old, it had dried out and didn't smell anymore. The winter spirit soon hurried upstairs, and he pushed through the curtain that closed her room off from the rest of her tower, and he carefully examined the girl's bedroom. Her bed was made, but the sheets were slightly mussed as though she'd been laying on it, and the contents of her vanity were knocked over, with many of them on the floor.

"Punz?" Jack called out, even though it was probably hopeless for him to be doing that, since he didn't see her anywhere, and she wouldn't try to stay away from him either.

"Pascal?" The boy remembered that Rapunzel's chameleon had seen him when he created a few frost lanterns, so Jack would've been happy to hear a squeak from the lizard.

However, the only response that Jack received was dead silence, and so he rushed back downstairs, but stopped to take a closer look at the rest of the things on the floor. There was a rag on the floor, knotted as though it had been tied around something, and as Jack made his way back towards the window, he noticed shackles, and blood. In a panic, Jack threw himself at the floor and touched the blood, then realized that it was long dry, and he stood back up to see another terrible thing spread around him. Jack sank down to his knees while dropping his staff at the same time, and he crawled across the unswept floor to gather up a pile of the brown hair in both of his hands. The hair felt so brittle and dirty in his hands, like it obviously had been left here for a long time, but Jack didn't want to believe that something bad happened to Rapunzel.

"Punz?!" His voice echoed throughout the empty tower, and still, nothing had answered him but the invisible wind, so he thought there had to be something good outside.

He picked up his staff from off the floor, hurried to the window and threw himself out, with the wind catching him easily, and then he lowered himself to the base of the tower. Jack walked around for a moment until he stepped on something with his foot, and he wiped away the snow with his hands to find that it was an old, weather worn cloak. Unfortunately, when Jack picked up the cloak from off the ground, it didn't appear to be in Rapunzel's size, and she would've had to grow just a few more years to wear it.

Jack thought this was like coming across an awful crime scene, with the broken glass, shackles, blood stains, pile of long brown hair, and the dusty floor of an empty tower. Someone must have been able to find the tower while Jack was away, but how could they discover upon it if the cave opening was hidden by a curtain of long, green plants? Not to mention that the tower was inside a large valley, so the only possible way for people to see it so easily was if they were flying high above the tower from up in the sky.

Could it actually be true as Jack's absence from Rapunzel became much longer and longer, she had become a lot more lonely and decided to just end it all by taking her life? Jack didn't want to believe it, not for a second, because he knew how promises were so important to Rapunzel, and how hurt she would be if someone had broken one to her. Had she always held hope that he would come back to her, only to lose it every time when he didn't show up at all, not even once, and didn't want to wait for him any longer.

Even if it was the slightest bit possible that she was deceased, then where was her body, since people were usually placed in a coffin before they're buried under the ground. He didn't know when the tears had begun to fall down his face, but Jack couldn't hold them back anymore, and he buried his face in the cloak, then wept in fear and mourning.

"I'm sorry," Jack whispered, and kept on repeating those words, which were made out to be incomprehensible much later, as they had only become morphed with his sobs.

Eventually, he stopped with both the crying and the apologies, then drifted off into a deep slumber, with the memories of his visit with Rapunzel going through his mind again.

Rapunzel smiled back to the winter spirit before she let out a giggle, which turned into a laugh, and it caused Jack's smile to vanish from his face and frown in disappointment. He had to admit that it was rather cute to hear her laugh, but it was also sad because it meant that she thought his theory of her being the lost princess was just a silly joke. How could it be so funny when it all made perfect sense, with her and the princess both having blonde hair and green eyes, so they had to have been the exact same person.

"Wait, Punz, I'm serious, like why do you have to live so far away from the kingdom, and I don't know if I asked you this already, but why is your hair so long?" Jack asked.

That's when Rapunzel had stopped laughing, and her own smile had disappeared right away, before she turned around, as if she had a big decision that she needed to make. Just when Jack was about to call out her name, and ask if she was okay, he listened carefully to hear Rapunzel talking with Pascal, since he wasn't on her shoulder anymore. He couldn't tell what Rapunzel had been saying, because she was practically whispering, and Jack didn't even know what the chameleon had said with his own squeaking. Eventually, she turned around to face Jack and brought Pascal back up to her shoulder, then opened her mouth to speak, but instead, walked over to sit down on her bed. Whatever it was that Rapunzel had spoken about with her friend, Jack knew that it must have been serious enough to actually leave her in silence between the two of them.

"Alright, Jack, I'm going to tell you why, but first, you must promise to keep what I say a secret, because I wouldn't want anyone else knowing about it." Rapunzel answered.

"Okay, Punz, I promise," Jack said, making his way to sit right next to Rapunzel on her bed, but not before letting go of his staff to have it lean against one of the bedposts.

"I would ask for you to give yourself any kind of injury, but I don't really think that it's necessary for what I'm about to show you." Rapunzel replied, and then closed her eyes.

Before Jack could even ask why there needed to be an injury in the first place, Rapunzel had started to sing softly, and to the boy's astonishment, her hair had begun to glow. Jack stayed completely silent and watched in total awe as the girl's hair lit up, while listening to her beautiful singing, which sadly came to an end, along with the hair's light.

"So that's your big secret, Punz, you have magic hair that glows when you sing, well I have to say that it's pretty neat, but why did I need to have an injury?" Jack asked.

"Because my hair has the ability to heal any kind of injury, whether it's a terrible sickness, or even just a paper cut, as long as you're in contact with it." Rapunzel explained.

"That definitely sounds like a wonderful gift, Punz, but you should know that there's a lot of people in the world who aren't doing so well with their health." Jack mentioned.

"Really, but my mother has always told me that the outside world is such a dark, cruel, and dangerous place that's filled with horrible and selfish people." Rapunzel recalled.

"And you still believe that's actually true, Punz, even after the sled ride and snowball fight, both of which we happened to do outside your tower, by the way." Jack reminded.

"I know, Jack, but Mother brought up so many awful things, such as ruffians and thugs, poison ivy, quicksand, cannibals and snakes, and the plague." Rapunzel remembered.

"Okay, but Punz, did the woman ever be more specific about any of them, like did she bring books with her and show you pictures of what they looked like?" Jack questioned.

"No, she didn't, not for all of those things, because I'm sure Mother wouldn't want me to have nightmares, but there's another reason why I don't go outside." Rapunzel said.

"There is, Punz?" Jack asked, as he began to believe that his friend's 'mother' wasn't really a good person, especially if she's been keeping Rapunzel in this tower all the time.

"When I was just a baby, there were people who tried to cut my hair, because they wanted to have its' healing powers all to themselves, but they couldn't." Rapunzel replied.

"How come?" Jack asked, while at the same time, he started to literally imagine that there were still people in the world who only cared about themselves, and never changed.

"Once the hair's cut, it turns brown and loses its power, a gift like that has to be protected, so that's why Mother never let me...why I never left the. . ." Rapunzel trailed off.

"It's the reason why you've never left this tower before." Jack said, finishing the sentence for Rapunzel, and the girl turned her head to face Jack, and slowly nodded her head.

"First of all, Punz, I'd like to thank you for telling me all of this, and I promise that I won't tell anyone else, but if you don't mind, could I ask you a question?" Jack questioned.

"Of course, Jack, what is it?" Rapunzel responded, while she was happy to know Jack would keep what she told him a secret, she was also curious to know Jack's question too.

"If your mother really did love you so much, then don't you think that she'd want you to go out and see the world, instead of always keep you inside this tower?" Jack asked.

"I'm sure that she'd want me to, but every time I ask Mother, she tells me that it's either not the right time, or I'm not prepared, or I'm just not old enough yet." Rapunzel answered.

"Seriously? C'mon, Punz, those are all excuses, and I don't remember you bringing up any of them when I asked you to come outside the tower earlier." Jack mentioned.

"That's because I didn't think of them at the time, and if it weren't for those 'excuses', then I'd probably spend my life being a slave to someone who wants my healing powers." Rapunzel said.

"Is it possible that you already are a slave in this tower, because your 'mother' is actually someone who kidnapped you so that she could have your healing powers all to herself?" Jack assumed.

Rapunzel let out a gasp, as if she couldn't believe that Jack would say that, and the girl didn't like that he kept asking these questions, and they made her feel like she didn't really know her mother.

"How dare you, Jack, so what you mean to ask me is that I don't know my mother at all, because I do, and I should know, because I've lived with her for almost eighteen years now!" Rapunzel said.

From hearing the anger and irritation in her voice, Jack knew that it was time for him to stop asking questions and try his best to have them both focused on something other than her 'mother'.

"You're right, Punz, I didn't mean to upset you, and I'm sorry about that, so what you do say that we stay in this tower and do one of your hobbies?" Jack suggested.

Just as Rapunzel was about to say something, she closed her mouth and took a few deep breaths to help calm herself down before turning to face Jack and reply back.

"Okay, Jack, I want to do that, and by the way, I accept your apology, but I'm feeling quite hungry, so you wouldn't mind if I baked a batch of cookies?" Rapunzel asked.

"No, Punz, I don't mind, but you should know that I'm not really an expert on any type of cooking, and I wouldn't want to freeze any of your utensils." Jack answered.

"That's alright, Jack, you can just watch me and Pascal show you how it's done, then after they're made, you could have a cookie or two if you want." Rapunzel offered.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Jack said genuinely, as both he and Rapunzel got themselves up from her bed, and he let Rapunzel go first in heading down the stairs to the kitchen.

Jack watched Rapunzel as she went to the cupboards to get all of the ingredients that were required to bake the cookies, and the girl set each of them on a table nearby.

"I'm sorry, Punz, I could have at least helped you with getting the ingredients out for you, but isn't there anything else that I can help you with?" Jack asked curiously.

"Yes, there is, Jack, so if it's not too much trouble, can you open up some of these bags, and this task requires just your hands and not your staff." Rapunzel responded.

The immortal teenager gave a nod before leaning his staff against the wall of the tower, then walked over to Rapunzel's side and picked up one of the bags from the table. He took a quick look at the bag to see that he was holding one full of sugar, and carefully, Jack unfolded it open, and made sure not to have the bag drop on the floor.

"Well, now that was easy, so I guess that I'll open two more bags, and I'll get out of your way, so are you sure that you don't want me to leave you alone?" Jack asked.

"Really, Jack, you don't have to go, and besides, baking these cookies isn't going to take that long, so please find a chair and make yourself comfortable." Rapunzel replied.

"Alright, Punz, if you insist." Jack said, as he looked around for a chair, walked over to it and sat down, but not before grabbing his staff from off the wall he left it earlier.

"So what kind of cookies are you making, Punz, or on second thought, you don't have to tell me what flavor, because I don't mind it being a big surprise." Jack added.

"I'll just say it's the only recipe that I've learned ever since I was younger, and I promise that you're going to love the taste of them after they're done." Rapunzel mentioned.

"Oh, I'm sure that I will." Jack said, as he stayed right in his chair, and watched Rapunzel get to work on her cookie recipe, while having the assistance of Pascal by her side. . .

Jack slowly opened his eyes, and he soon let out a groan in displeasure, with knowing that the dream featuring the memories of his visit with Rapunzel had come to an end. Eventually, Jack brought his head up to see that his body was covered with snow, which meant that he did sleep for quite a long time, and it fell to the ground as he stood up. The boy's mind quickly had done a recollection of all of the things that he saw in the tower, from the deceased flowers on the windowsill to the trail of brown hair on the floor. As much as it lead up to the conclusion that Rapunzel must have passed away, Jack refused to believe that was even the slightest bit true, and carefully thought for a while.

He tried to come up with another reason that perfectly explained her absence from the tower, but Jack wasn't able to think of one, and he just became a lot more frustrated. In that exact moment, Jack gritted his teeth and he felt like shouting out at the top of his lungs, and was hoping that Rapunzel would hear him if he did go through with it. Still, it didn't seem to be such a good idea, since the only cause that it would make for Jack was a blizzard, considering that his emotions were connected with his powers. Right when Jack was about to take off into the sky and go back to his duties as a Guardian, he stopped to think of a certain theory that he came up with Rapunzel in mind.

What if she didn't die, but realized that she was the lost princess and went to the kingdom of Corona to be reunited with her real family and accept the royal title she had? Despite the idea being quite a long shot, especially with the disturbing things that he saw back in the tower, Jack still wanted to take a chance and see if it was really true. It wouldn't even matter to Jack if Rapunzel had stopped believing in him and couldn't see him anymore, it only mattered whether she was still fully alive and healthy too. Jack was also hoping that Rapunzel would be in a room that did have a window, or else, he wouldn't be able to see her, but Jack was willing to wait until she was in one. With that being decided, Jack leaped into the wind's heavy breeze, and flew over to the kingdom of Corona, while still hoping Rapunzel's been in her real home all along.


	9. Heartbeat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I'd like to apologize for making all of you guys wait so long for an update, and so, here's a new chapter that's the longest I've ever written for this story. The chapters that come next probably won't be the same length as this one, and just so you know, the orb that's featured in this chapter is from a ROTG fancomic on DeviantART titled 'Shift' by LivingAliveCreator, who gave me permission to include the orb in my story, and you so anyway, I hope that all of you love this chapter. Enjoy!

"Eugene, I'm so happy right now, and I can't wait until we get married," Rapunzel said, while having a tone of excitement in her voice, as she and her fiancè parted after they were finished with their public display of affection, since Rapunzel's parents were still in the room.

"I'm glad to hear that, Punzie, so anyway, perhaps you and I should go somewhere alone, so we can have a little more privacy." Eugene suggested.

Even though he still wanted to know why Rapunzel was so upset from earlier, Eugene knew that she'd tell him when she was ready and comfortable.

"Yes, that's a good idea," Rapunzel replied, before turning around to face her parents. "Mom, Dad, is it okay with you if me and Eugene do that?"

"Of course, Rapunzel, the four of us can talk more about preparations for the wedding at another time, but you'll let us know when, right?" Queen Primrose asked.

"I will, and I promise that I won't forget," Rapunzel answered, as she went forward to hug both of her parents, then walked with Eugene towards the stairs.

Once they were in the hallway, Eugene realized that Rapunzel had been quiet for a while now, and that was quite odd to him, considering that Rapunzel usually didn't let a minute pass without saying something so he thought giving ideas of their activity would get her to talk.

"So, Punzie, should we head for the library to read a book, or is there any ideas that you can think of for us to do?" Eugene asked.

"I'd like to go in my room, Eugene, and not without you, because I really want you to stay with me, please?" Rapunzel requested.

"Punzie, you should know by now that I'll do anything for you just as long as it makes you happy." Eugene responded.

Hearing that caused Rapunzel to smile and even slightly blush, as she took Eugene's hand in hers, then pulled him through the hallway.

"Whoa, I know what I said was supposed to be sweet, but I don't think it was the best thing ever." Eugene admitted.

Rapunzel didn't immediately give any sort of reply back to Eugene, but it wasn't until they reached the doors to her room, where she brought his head down to her level using one of her hands, and began kissing him, with the other hand pulling at the hair on the base of his neck. Eugene didn't even bother to pull back and inquire Rapunzel about her sudden affection, as he raised both of his hands to cup her face. Suddenly, he realized they were still in the hallway, and it wouldn't be good for them to get caught by a servant, or Rapunzel's parents. With that in mind, Eugene opened his eyes and slowly titled his head to the right so he could try to see where the door handle was.

As soon as he saw it, Eugene carefully moved Rapunzel a few steps back to get closer to the door handle, while keeping his lips locked with hers. He lowered his right hand down from Rapunzel's face to grasp the handle, and in one swift movement, he pushed it down and got the door open. Eugene lifted Rapunzel off the floor, so he could carry her into the room, and it seemed like she clearly got the message when she wrapped her legs around his waist and continued to kiss him at the same time. The Princess also brought her arms around Eugene's neck, as the soon-to-be prince consort shut the door behind him, and walked further into the room, but he resisted the urge to bring Rapunzel over to the bed, since it would be taking a step too far.

What was happening between them right now couldn't go on much further until after they were married, so if Rapunzel were to get pregnant, there's no doubt that it would cause a scandal, because it was best for any couple to be married first before having kids. Eugene opened his eyes again to look for a spot where he could set Rapunzel down, so that way, they could remain at eye level. It would also give some much needed rest for Rapunzel's legs, especially after they've been around Eugene's waist for a few minutes now. Luckily, Eugene saw a drawer nearby which wasn't so high and what made it better is that it didn't have anything on top of it either.

He quickly walked over to the drawer and sat Rapunzel down on it, then brought his hands back up to cup each side of the girl's face. Rapunzel eventually moved her own arms from behind Eugene's neck, to come down his black vest, and they stopped right at his brown belt. She couldn't be able to use her eyes, due to her lips being occupied with Eugene's, so she pulled away in order to see where his belt was. When Eugene looked down, his eyes widened to notice Rapunzel staring to unbuckle his belt, which caused him to take a few steps back.

"Hold on, Punzie, I don't think that we should go through with this, if you know what I'm talking about." Eugene said, while gesturing to his belt.

"Eugene, didn't you say earlier that you'd do anything for me as long as it made me happy, well, this will make me happy." Rapunzel replied.

"You really can't wait until our wedding, Punzie, because if we're married, we'd get to do this as many times as we want." Eugene reminded.

"I know, but I only want to do this just one time, and I promise that I'll never ask you again until after we're married." Rapunzel assured.

Eugene took a moment to think it over, as Rapunzel wondered what kind of thoughts were going through his head right now. Both of Rapunzel's parents had already given 'the talk' to their daughter in the past, so Rapunzel knew what to expect if her and Eugene wanted to be more intimate in the future, but they also said that until she was married, it couldn't go any further than kissing. It's not like Rapunzel and Eugene would be committing such an awful crime from having sex before marriage, and they were in love, which meant that they had a good reason to consummate their relationship, even with a few months in advance of their wedding. The girl's train of thoughts came to a sudden stop when she noticed Eugene walking over to the door.

Rapunzel instantly jumped to the conclusion that Eugene was planning to leave her all alone in the room, and tell her parents about the activity that she suggested they do in the bed, but all Eugene did was make sure that the door had been locked before going back to her. He safely got Rapunzel off the drawer to have them both standing in front of each other, and they stayed in that position for a few seconds until Eugene walked close enough to Rapunzel so that she could undo his belt again, but this time, he didn't bother to stop her at all. After his belt was removed, Eugene turned Rapunzel around by her shoulders, then used his hands to untie the knots on the back of her dress. Eugene slipped a finger under each crossing of the knots and pulled, which led to Rapunzel's dress being loose enough for him to take the entire thing over her head, but all that did was reveal a tight corset Rapunzel had been wearing underneath her dress.

Instead of working on the knots from the back of her corset, Eugene let Rapunzel have a turn in taking off an article of his own clothing. Although he assumed that Rapunzel would go for his black vest, she decided on his brown bucket top boots, leaving him barefoot just like she was. With his boots now discarded, Eugene spun Rapunzel to unbind the knots of her corset, and after what seemed like forever, she was standing before him in only her pink nightgown, before Rapunzel came forward to take off his black vest, white long sleeved shirt and dark cream colored pants. She couldn't help but giggle from looking at Eugene's undergarments, which were blue boxers with multiple yellow images of Corona's emblem.

Neither of them did a thing except stare at one another in their underwear for what felt like hours, but was really just minutes, before Rapunzel slowly brought her arms up to pull the straps of her nightgown off her shoulders, to have the nightgown come down her body and fall to the floor. All that Rapunzel had on her body now were her bra and panties, which she took off to have them join her nightgown below. It only took Eugene less than five seconds to soak in the full sight of Rapunzel from head to toe, which caused her to blush. He brought up his eyes to stare at just Rapunzel's eyes before using his hands to pull his boxers down from his waist and legs.

Not once did Eugene take his eyes off Rapunzel while his boxers made their way to the floor, then he kicked his boxers over to a corner of the room with one of his feet, and a minute passed of them ogling at each other's bodies before Eugene closed the distance between them. Once again, he returned to cupping Rapunzel's face, but this time, with only one hand, and his lips were enveloped with hers. Eugene still wanted to take it slow for both of their sakes, which is why he didn't have his other hand touch any new areas. Instead, as their mouths stayed locked, Eugene slid his hand around Rapunzel's waist, and it stroked the small of her back, so that she was now pressed up against him, and since they were uninhibited by clothing, they gasped together at the feeling of this new found closeness.

Rapunzel had no idea what had come over her, but all she knew was that she wanted this, to be as close to him as possible. She ran her own hands through Eugene's dark brown hair, then all over the muscles of both his chest and abdomen. Next, the princess pulled her lips away from his and started to plant as many kisses on his upper body as she could. While he allowed Rapunzel do that, Eugene wrapped his arms around her bare back, and planted his own kisses on top of her head.

Eugene also made use of his nose to inhale the smell of Rapunzel's hair, then suddenly, a gasp came out of his mouth when he felt his fiancée's hands come down to feel his bare butt, and Eugene couldn't help but let out a moan and have his face flushed from this new contact. It didn't last long, so without any hesitation, Eugene lifted Rapunzel off the floor by her waist, and kept his arms around her back to keep her secured. At the same time, Rapunzel wrapped her own arms around Eugene's neck, in addition to her legs around the man's waist. Soon enough, they fell onto the bed, with neither of them taking their eyes off one another for even a single second.

The former thief came on top of the young girl and kissed her again while she caressed his back with each of her hands. Rapunzel didn't know this, but Eugene was caught up in the strangest mixture of ecstasy and confusion, because although it felt so wonderful to have her lips kissing his, and her hands feeling his back muscles, some part of Eugene was telling him that something wasn't right. This part was quite small, and nearly drowned out by the part that was shouting for more, but it spoke loud enough for Eugene to hear. What Eugene heard was his conscience telling him that it would be such a huge mistake for him and Rapunzel to go through with this.

There could be a chance that if they did, then the sex wouldn't feel so pleasant and meaningful for them after they were married. If the intimacy wasn't delightful for the couple, then Rapunzel and Eugene would probably get bored of each other right away. Eugene wanted not just the two of them to be happy in their marriage, but for their marriage to last a very long time, and he didn't think either of those things would be possible if they went straight to the part that was meant to be specifically done during their wedding night.

"Punzie, I don't think that we should do this." Eugene declared, hoping that what he said was loud enough for his fiancée to hear.

It seemed to appear that way when Rapunzel moved her head back, but still kept her arms and legs wrapped around his body.

"Wait, Eugene, you don't, but I thought that you wanted to, since I saw you check the door to see if it was locked. . ." Rapunzel said.

"I know that I did, but now, I really think we won't end up being so happy if this happens before we're married." Eugene replied.

Before the princess could say something again, Eugene realized that they were still unclothed, so he tried to pull himself away from Rapunzel, but unfortunately, he couldn't be able to do that since she still had her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

"Hey, Punzie, if you don't mind, but could you please take your body off mine so that I can get dressed?" Eugene asked.

After being released from Rapunzel's limbs, Eugene searched the room for his clothes, while Rapunzel took a pillow from behind to cover herself. Only a few minutes passed before Eugene was back to wearing everything as if the clothes never came off his body. Eugene picked up each article of Rapunzel's clothing that was on the floor and put them all in a pile on the bed next to her.

"I'll leave you alone so you can put on your clothes in privacy." Eugene notified, before turning around to walk towards the door.

"What's the point of that?" Rapunzel asked, as she got off the bed. "You've already seen what I look like a few minutes ago."

Rapunzel didn't even bother to pay attention to her clothes, because she wanted Eugene to look at her again, but he still stood with his back to her, and that's when she took the same pillow that she used to cover her body and threw it to strike the man in the head.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, since that's what you're supposed to be doing if we're married!" Rapunzel shouted.

Eugene slowly moved himself around to face Rapunzel, but not before picking up the pillow and throwing it back onto the bed.

"I'm sorry, Punzie, it's all my fault, I should've said 'no', then we wouldn't have gotten carried away like that." Eugene said.

"Why didn't you just say something before I took off your belt, or any other time after that happened?" Rapunzel yelled.

"I should've been in much more control of myself, and the situation too, but I just wasn't thinking clearly." Eugene answered.

"So you weren't thinking clearly at all when you were taking off my clothes and bringing me over to the bed?" Rapunzel asked.

Eugene could obviously tell that Rapunzel was very upset with him from the tone of her voice, and what hurt the most was the fact that Rapunzel never sounded this angry before, so Eugene thought it would be best if he left her alone for a while so she could calm down.

"Like I said earlier, I'll leave you by yourself so you can get dressed, and hopefully, you can relax as well." Eugene responded.

As much as Rapunzel wanted to say that she didn't need to relax, a part of her believed otherwise, so all she did was give a nod. Eugene opened the door, and then left the room, while Rapunzel just stood for a short moment before walking over to the bed. Rapunzel got down on both of her knees, brought her face to the bed sheets, and began to cry over what happened with Eugene. She couldn't remember the last time that her and Eugene had an argument, or even if they actually did have one in the past.

The tears didn't stop falling from Rapunzel's eyes, as she thought of what exactly Eugene must have been feeling right now. Was it possible that Eugene felt anger towards Rapunzel for convincing him to have sex with her a few months ahead of their wedding, or did he feel sad and disappointed just like she was that the two of them had gotten into a disagreement with one another? Either way, Eugene wasn't in the room, so Rapunzel now believed that there was no reason for her to avoid wearing any clothes. Instead of putting on the garments that were still in a pile on the bed, Rapunzel went to the bathroom, where she got a purple robe.

Although the robe wasn't long enough to cover her legs, Rapunzel felt very comfy wearing it, considering the robe was made of cotton. Rapunzel walked back to sit down on her bed, then she buried her face in both of her hands until a sound had come to the girl's ears. She brought her head up and looked around to find the source of the sound when suddenly, Rapunzel's eyes grew wide with amazement. It wasn't just that one of the glass window panes was frozen over with frost, but some type of drawing had begun to be created on it.

When Rapunzel noticed an image of a sun, she realized that the drawing was a lantern, the same kind that was released on her birthday. Rapunzel closed her eyes for a few seconds to see if she was only imagining things, but the lantern still remained on the window pane. The princess could barely comprehend what she saw now, as the lantern literally came to life by floating right into Rapunzel's bedroom. Rapunzel felt so thrilled as she watched the frost lantern go around the room until it burst into hundreds of snowflakes above her head.

She stuck out her tongue to try and catch some of the snowflakes, and Rapunzel also held out her hands as the snowflakes fell down. It made Rapunzel feel good to know what winter was like for the first time in forever without having to go outside the castle. However, it wouldn't get to stay that way as all of the snowflakes vanished, and there was no frost on the windows anymore. Just as Rapunzel was about to sit down on the bed again and go back to feeling miserable, she heard a familiar voice nearby.

"Hey, Punz, are you okay?" Rapunzel obviously knew it wasn't Eugene who used that nickname for her.

Rapunzel turned around to find herself face to face with the person that she never thought she'd ever see again. The person who was the first to come across the tower before Eugene climbed into it a few months ago. The person who convinced her to leave the tower and showed her how much fun the outside world can be. The person who, time and time again, made their way into Rapunzel's mind after visiting her once in the past.

It was none other than Jack Frost, and yet, Rapunzel still wasn't sure of whether to give him a big hug for coming to see her or to slap him hard for being away for so long, but Rapunzel wanted to know if her mind wasn't playing a trick and Jack was actually in front of her. Rapunzel took a deep breath before walking toward Jack at a slow pace until she was just inches away from his face. What she didn't know was that Jack had begun to freak out on the inside due to the close proximity he had with Rapunzel. He always believed when a person came this close to another, then it meant that they were going to kiss each other.

People usually closed their eyes first before they made contact with their lips, so that's exactly what Jack did. Instead of feeling Rapunzel's mouth over his own, what Jack felt was one of her hands come onto his face. Jack opened up his eyes when he realized that and took a few steps back from Rapunzel with a look of confusion.

"Excuse me, Punz, but could you please tell me why were you touching my face just now?" Jack asked.

"Sorry, Jack, I only had to be sure that you're really here and it wasn't my imagination." Rapunzel replied.

"Well, Punz, it's definitely not a dream, and I must say that you look. . .different, but it's a good different." Jack said.

"Thanks, and you're probably wondering why I don't have that long blonde hair, right?" Rapunzel guessed.

"Yeah, but we can get to that later, and I really want to know why you were upset earlier." Jack responded.

"How much did you hear from the fight," Rapunzel asked, then shook her head. "You know what, it doesn't matter."

"Wait a minute, a fight, all I saw was you sitting on your bed with your face in your hands." Jack answered.

"Long story short, the person I fought with refused to do something with me in this room." Rapunzel said.

"So what was it that you wanted to do, and if I may ask, Punz, why are you wearing a robe? Jack asked.

Rapunzel didn't feel like telling Jack that she had wasted her time in taking off her clothes to have sex with Eugene, only to be embarrassingly rejected by him, and becoming so angry to the point of throwing a pillow at his head, so she decided on telling a little white lie.

"I wanted to take a bath, but I didn't want to be alone, so I asked somebody if they could join me." Rapunzel explained.

"Let me guess, they said 'no' because they thought it was wrong to be in the bathtub with you?" Jack inquired.

"Yes, that's right, and I was so upset that I told them to leave me alone and not come back here." Rapunzel fibbed.

"Are you sure that you're okay, Punz, it must have felt awful to fight with someone." Jack said with a look of concern.

"I'm fine now, Jack, so anyway, do you still want me to tell you how I lost my blonde hair?" Rapunzel asked.

"Sure, I do, Punz, but if it's a long story, then maybe it's better for us to sit down first." Jack suggested.

Rapunzel agreed with a nod of her head, and they walked over to take a seat beside one another on her bed. The princess took a deep breath before telling the story, which started on the day before her eighteenth birthday. It had ended with Rapunzel saying that a party was thrown to celebrate her long awaited return to the kingdom.

"Punz, I'm so glad that you realized you were the lost princess, and reunited with your real parents." Jack acknowledged.

"Me too, and I wouldn't even get to be in this castle if it wasn't for the man that I'm going to marry." Rapunzel mentioned.

Right after those words left her mouth, a long and uncomfortable silence fell between the two of them until Jack spoke up.

"So that's the person you fought with before I got here, and the guy's name actually is Eugene Fitzherbert?" Jack asked.

"Yes, and we've already agreed to have our wedding in the springtime, when it's nice and warm. . ." Rapunzel answered.

Rapunzel stopped herself from saying anything else when she realized that spring hadn't been a season Jack was so fond of.

"Oh, Jack, I'm sorry, I never should've said that, since I know you bring winter for people around the world." Rapunzel said.

"There's no need to apologize, Punz, it's not like I'm going to melt like an icicle when the sun comes out." Jack replied.

"It's a good thing that won't happen, because I don't think we'd enjoy a winter without ice and snow." Rapunzel responded.

"Hey, Punz, do you remember enjoying the snow that I gave you back when you used to live in that tower?" Jack asked.

Rapunzel felt glad that she wasn't asked about Gothel, and she was comfortable with talking about anything related to the tower except her.

"Yes, I remember, and it was wonderful, but do you remember eating the cookies that I baked there?" Rapunzel inquired.

Just after he heard Rapunzel say that, Jack let the memory of his visit with Rapunzel in the past slowly take over his mind. . .

"The cookies are all done, Jack, and it didn't take me that long to make them." Rapunzel said, as she put on an oven mitt.

"Awesome, and I'm glad that I didn't fall asleep while you made the cookies." Jack replied sarcastically, while getting up from the chair.

"Fall asleep? It only took ten minutes for the cookies to be baked." Rapunzel mentioned, before taking them out with her gloved hand.

"Yeah, but still, each of those minutes felt very long." Jack responded, as he walked toward Rapunzel. "So how many did you make?"

"Oh, not that many, just about two dozen." Rapunzel answered, while putting the tray on top of the oven for the cookies to cool down.

"Punz, you don't plan on eating all of them, do you?" Jack asked, and he was surprised to see that Rapunzel made a lot of cookies.

"Of course not," Rapunzel replied, as she took off her oven mitt. "If Pascal or Mother want to have a cookie, they can have one."

"Wait, what about me?" Jack said, and Rapunzel turned around to face him. "Do I get a cookie, or did you change your mind?"

"No, you can have a cookie, Jack, and if you want, you can even take more than one for yourself." Rapunzel responded.

She turned around and slowly touched one of the cookies to check if it was cool enough for her to take all of them off the tray. Rapunzel each put five cookies on four plates, with the extra four on another plate, and that's the one she carried over to Jack.

"Since you're first person to try them, you can let me know what you think." Rapunzel said, and watched as Jack took a cookie.

The girl waited patiently as Jack took a bite, and only a few seconds passed before Rapunzel saw a smile appear on his face.

"It tastes great, Punz," Jack replied, and he put the rest of the cookie in his mouth and what he did next had Rapunzel amazed.

Jack grabbed each of the remaining cookies and put all of them in his hoodie pocket, then he walked over to the oven. He still wasn't done as Jack picked up yet another cookie from a random plate and he placed that one in his pocket too.

"So I'm guessing the cookie was that good, huh?" Rapunzel asked, while walking over to put the plate on the kitchen counter.

"Yeah, it was that good, but I'm not saving these cookies for me, they're actually for my friends." Jack answered.

"That's nice of you, and if you don't mind, could you please tell me who are these friends of yours?" Rapunzel inquired.

"Sure, Punz, but maybe the two of us should sit down somewhere first before I tell you about them." Jack suggested.

Rapunzel nodded her head in agreement, then she walked to a corner of the room and got a chair for herself. As for Jack, he brought over the same chair that he sat down on while Rapunzel baked her cookies from earlier. Once they were both sitting, Jack cleared his throat and leaned his staff against the chair before he began to talk. Jack told her as much as he could about the Guardians, from their physical appearances and personalities to their powers and abilities. He decided not to tell her about Pitch and the actual reason why each of them do their job, since Jack didn't Rapunzel to worry.

"They all sound wonderful, Jack, so how come I didn't know about them at all while I was growing up?" Rapunzel asked.

"Your mother probably never told you, Punz, and honestly, I'm not even sure why she wouldn't do that." Jack responded.

"Well, it doesn't matter now, but it's still a shame, because I would've stayed up to see if they were real." Rapunzel said.

"Oh, they're real, and to prove it, why don't you come with me right now and see them for themselves?" Jack offered.

Rapunzel laughed for a moment, believing Jack was only joking, but then she stopped when she realized he was serious.

"Hold on, Jack, I can't just leave!" Rapunzel exclaimed, while walking away. "Mother will be back at any moment by now!"

"Relax, Punz, you can just leave a note saying that 'Father Frost' or 'Old Man Winter' took you for a trip to the North Pole." Jack replied.

"Even if I do that, she'll think I was kidnapped, and the only way she can get in and out of this tower is with my hair." Rapunzel mentioned.

"I'm sure you won't be doing the worst thing ever by making her wait outside until you get back." Jack convinced.

"What's Mother possibly going to think if she catches me flying through the window on my own?" Rapunzel asked.

Before Jack could give an answer, a beeping noise was made about three times, and it seemed to come from Jack. Rapunzel watched as Jack pulled out from his hoodie pocket a circular device which had a pretty frost design all over it. The device also featured a small blue button at the center of it, and right now, the button was constantly flashing.

"Hey, Jack, what is that thing?" Rapunzel asked, since she was curious to know why Jack kept this device with him.

"It's called an 'orb', Jack responded. "It was made and given to me by North, who's otherwise known as Santa Claus, and the way it works is you speak a command to it, and images appear when you press the blue button. You can ask the orb any question you want, and it will give you the right answer through words and pictures. Every time that the button flashes, it usually means I'm needed at the North Pole for a meeting." Jack explained.

After saying all of that, Jack went over to a table and placed the orb on top of it, then he pressed the blue button. Rapunzel looked on in awe as a hologram was projected from the button and she could see a man in the hologram. This man appeared to be tall, buff, and a little rotund, and he had thick eyebrows, along with a long, white beard.

"Jack, are you there?" The man asked with an accent that Rapunzel hadn't heard of before or was familiar with.

"Yeah, North, I'm here," Jack replied, while keeping his eyes on the hologram. "You need to see me?" He guessed.

"That is correct, Jack, and there are things we need to discuss, and I would prefer we do that face to face." North said.

"Okay, North, I'll meet you at the Pole." Jack assured, and he saw North nod his head before the hologram disappeared.

"Wait, Jack, you're leaving?" Rapunzel only realized that after thinking of how the hologram she saw was so beautiful.

"I'm afraid so, Punz, and I wish I could stay, but North doesn't like it when I'm late for a meeting." Jack explained.

Rapunzel was almost going to convince Jack that it wouldn't be wrong if he stayed a little longer, but decided not to.

"You'll come back, right, so we can hang out again?" Rapunzel asked, as she really hoped that would get to happen.

She's never had as much fun as she did with Jack today, so she didn't want this to be the last time they saw each other.

"Of course, Punz," Jack answered, as he put the orb back into his pocket. "It won't be hard for me to forget this tower."

"Just promise me that you won't forget, please." Rapunzel pleaded, while trying her best not to sound too desperate.

Jack stared at Rapunzel for only a few seconds before he put his staff down on the nearest table, and took both of her hands in his own.

"Don't worry, Punz, I promise I'll come back." Jack assured with a firm tone of voice, and what happened next had taken him by surprise.

Rapunzel wrapped her arms around Jack, who eventually hugged her back with both of his arms, since he wasn't holding his staff. Instead of not letting Jack go, Rapunzel allowed him to pull away from their embrace and grab his staff from off the table. Rapunzel didn't say a word as she watched Jack make his way over to the window, and turned around to face her once more.

"Goodbye, Punz." Jack said, while waving a hand, before he literally flew out the tower, and headed for North's workshop.

"Hey, Jack, are you okay?" Rapunzel asked, then she patiently waited for Jack to give any sort of reply back to her.

She also noticed that the look on Jack's face was the same look she had when a memory of his previous visit came in her mind. Rapunzel was about to turn her head when she saw tears well up in Jack's eyes, so she knew she had to say something.

"Oh, Jack, if you're thinking I'm still upset that you didn't come back right away, don't worry, I'm not upset anymore." Rapunzel said.

"No, Punz, it's not that," Jack replied, as he refused to look Rapunzel in the eye while talking. "I went to the tower. . ."

That's when Rapunzel realized why Jack had begun to get emotional, he came from the place that was her prison for the past eighteen years. From the dead flowers and dusty floor to the blood stains and shattered mirror, it must have been an awful scene for Jack to see.

"I thought. . .for a moment. . .you were dead." Jack murmured, before slowly bringing his head up and turning it to face Rapunzel.

"Could you lay down on the bed for me?" Jack asked, and right when those words had left his mouth, Rapunzel's eyes widened.

Even though Rapunzel wanted to tell him 'no', she didn't want Jack to become even more upset than he already was right now. Without further ado, Rapunzel laid down on her back in the middle of the bed, while Jack leaned his staff against a wall of the room. After he did that, Jack got himself on the bed, then he used both of his hands to carefully untie the knot that kept her bathrobe on. Once again, Rapunzel's eyes grew wide from what Jack was doing, and she had to know what he had in mind. "Jack, what are you doing?"

"Please, Punz, I need this. . ." Jack whispered, and he continued untying the girl's robe until the middle part of her chest was exposed.

Rapunzel let out a sigh of relief as she looked up to see that her robe wasn't open enough for her boobs to be shown to Jack. The winter spirit laid himself down beside Rapunzel, then he pressed his ear against her chest, on a spot between her boobs and under her collarbone. Rapunzel wondered for a moment why Jack was doing this, and it was then that she realized; Jack was listening to her heartbeat. In a way, she did owe him this, Jack believed that he was literally too late in fulfilling his promise to see her again.

Rapunzel never really thought about it, but the more she did, the more she realized that Jack may just be lacking his own beating heart. It felt comforting to know that someone was taking comfort in listening to her heart, even though it wasn't Eugene. For the past three hundred years, it was as if there was an empty spot in Jack's chest at every passing hour, day, week and year. An emptiness that grew and simply lingered, swallowing Jack whole from any time he wasn't distracting himself with snowball fights, building snow forts and designs to wow the children and even adults the next day and make them question who could have done such a thing.

Yet there would always be moments when alone, when traveling on the wind that the empty ache could consume him. Every time that a human would walk through Jack, it only increased the hollow ache of pain where his heart was. The longer he went without a heart beat, the worse that the need became to just hear it from someone, anyone, to just fall into the trance that the rhythmic sound pulled him into. At first, Jack hardly noticed his lack of pulse with the fact small cuts from anything dangerous that was worth doing wouldn't bleed.

How could they if there wasn't any blood being pumped through his heart? Once the realization came to, Jack was fully hit with how truly alone he was, with not even a heartbeat to give himself solace. The few spirits and people like him that he came across through all those years seemed happy, content, and alive. Maybe that was why Jack became so determined to crash Easter one year, though he claimed it was an accident.

It wouldn't get to be that way ever again, since Jack not only had friends, but he also had people believing in him everywhere. Jack was truly grateful right now for Rapunzel letting him hear her heartbeat, even though it seemed inappropriate. Rapunzel was wearing a bathrobe, and he could obviously tell that was it from having his ear pressed against her bare skin. It was such a soothing experience for Jack to feel the warmth, find the pulse points, and hear that beat for the first time.

This would probably also be the last time, so Jack wanted nothing more than to repay Rapunzel for this moment. Jack thought it really had to be something much different than snow in her kingdom or frost bunnies in her bedroom. Before Jack could actually start thinking on what he should get for Rapunzel, a beeping noise startled the two of them. The familiar sound caused Jack to fall over the side of Rapunzel's bed with a thud, while she got up to sit on the bed. Rapunzel took a quick glance to see if Jack wasn't looking at her before she quickly tied up the knot of her bathrobe.

"Jack, are you okay?" Rapunzel asked concernedly, as she saw Jack rub his head first before getting up from the floor.

"Yeah, Punz, I'm alright," Jack replied, then he pulled the orb out of his hoodie pocket, but not without standing straight.

"In case you were wondering, Punz, it was my orb making that sound." Jack added, as he walked over to the end of the bed.

Before Rapunzel could say something to Jack, he had already placed the orb on top of her bed and pressed its blue button. When a blue hologram was projected from the button, Rapunzel suddenly realized that she had seen this orb in the past. It was back in the tower when Rapunzel had made a batch of cookies and Jack took a few of them to give to his friends. She also remembered Jack speaking to a bearded man from the orb's hologram before he left for the North Pole.

Her train of thought came to a end when Rapunzel saw the hologram vanish in front of her. Rapunzel didn't find it so much important for her to know who Jack was talking to through the orb. She knew that the last time Jack received a message from the orb, it meant that he had to leave. The immortal boy took a few steps forward but not before putting the orb back in his hoodie pocket.

"Hey, Punz. . ." Jack began, but Rapunzel held up both of her hands to stop him from saying more.

"I know that you have to go, and don't worry, I'm not going to keep you from leaving." Rapunzel said.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, Punz, and thanks a lot for letting me hear your heartbeat." Jack responded.

"Your welcome, Jack, and I really hope that you're feeling better now than before." Rapunzel answered.

"I'm definitely feeling much better, and I promise that I'm going to repay you for this." Jack declared.

"Wait, what?" Rapunzel asked in disbelief. "No, Jack, you don't have to give me anything." She added.

"Punz, you allowed me a chance to hear your heart, so it's only fair that I get you something in return." Jack said.

Rapunzel was about to disagree when she started to think that it wouldn't be so bad to receive a gift from Jack.

"I'm not going to talk you out of doing this, am I?" Rapunzel asked, and Jack simply replied by shaking his head.

"Okay, Jack, if you want to stop by this castle and give me a present, you can do that." Rapunzel granted.

"Great!" Jack shouted, before he flew to open the window, and turned his head around. "See you later, Punz."

After he had flown out the window, Rapunzel kept her eyes on Jack until he was just a speck in the wide open sky. Rapunzel immediately closed the window to not let the cold and chilly air from outside get into her bedroom. A few seconds went by until a smile appeared on Rapunzel's face, and it wasn't just because of Jack visiting her.

Rapunzel believed that she wouldn't be having any more memories of the time Jack spent with her in the tower. If that was true, then it meant no more of Rapunzel being an emotional mess and worrying everyone around her. However, before he left, Jack told Rapunzel that he would be coming back again to give her something special.

Rapunzel didn't know why, nor did she even want to admit it, but a part of her actually felt excited for Jack to return. Perhaps her excitement was only coming from the fact she'll be given a gift, Rapunzel thought it was more than that. Unfortunately, she didn't think about it for much longer when she heard a knock from outside her bedroom door.

"Who is it?" Rapunzel asked, as she walked over to the door, even though she knew who was on the other side.

"It's me, Punzie, could you please open the door?" Eugene asked with a tone of voice that sounded desperate.

"Eugene, I don't mean to be rude, but why can't you open it?" Rapunzel inquired, while curious to know his answer.

"My hands are full, Punzie, and it wouldn't be so good to even try using them right now." Eugene replied.

Rapunzel opened up the door for Eugene to go through, and she closed it once he was inside the room. She turned around to see that Eugene was holding two cups, and there was steam rising from each one.

"Eugene, what exactly is in those cups?" Rapunzel asked, while hoping there wasn't anything bad in them.

"I felt awful for getting you upset earlier, so I made some hot chocolate to cheer you up." Eugene answered.

"Really, so you didn't have one of the chefs make it for you?" Rapunzel inquired, and Eugene shook his head.

"You didn't end up burning down the kitchen either?" She questioned, and Eugene's head turned left and right.

Eugene took a few steps toward Rapunzel and brought the cups closer so she could smell the hot chocolate.

"Wow, Eugene, it actually smells delicious, but there's something that I need to tell you first." Rapunzel said.

"Okay, just please wait a second," Eugene responded, before he went over to put the cups on a nearby drawer.

"What is it?" Eugene asked, as he returned to standing in front of Rapunzel and giving her eye contact too.

"I'd like to apologize, not only for convincing you to have sex with me, but for shouting at you." Rapunzel replied.

"There's no need to apologize, Punzie, it's all water under the bridge, so let's enjoy our hot chocolate." Eugene requested.

Rapunzel smiled and nodded her head before she went to the drawer to take a cup in her hands, but Eugene stopped her.

"Eugene, is something wrong?" Rapunzel inquired, while looking at her fiancé. "Is the cup too hot for me to touch?"

"No, Punzie, your fingers won't get burned," Eugene assured. "I think there's something we need to do, but I'll go first."

"Should I be sitting down for this?" Rapunzel asked, and after Eugene gave a nod, she quickly sat down on the bed.

Rapunzel began to get worried when Eugene walked over to the door, but he was only making sure if it was locked. Once he came back in front of Rapunzel, that's when Eugene brought his hands down to his belt and started to unbuckle it.

"Wait a minute, Eugene, what are you doing?" Rapunzel inquired with disbelief of what she was seeing with her eyes.

"I'm taking my clothes off." Eugene replied, as he dropped his belt to the floor, and then pulled off both of his boots.

"Didn't you tell me earlier that it was a bad idea for us to have sex before we're married?" Rapunzel reminded.

"Yes, but I never did say it was a bad idea to spend time in the nude before our wedding." Eugene responded.

By the time he said that, Eugene had already taken off his black vest and he began to pull his white shirt over his head.

"Do my parents even know about this, Eugene, like did you tell them about our argument?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yes, but I lied a little, telling them that you wanted us to take a bath together, and I refused, so they suggested that I make you hot chocolate, and since we've already seen each other naked, I thought it would be more fun to do our hobbies this way." Eugene explained.

He used his hands to undo the fly of his pants and push them down his legs before lifting his feet to get out of them. Eugene was only wearing his blue boxers and he was about to discard them when he saw Rapunzel hold up her hands.

"So if we can't have sex, then what kind of hobbies could the two of us do when we're naked?" Rapunzel inquired.

"Lots of things, such as cuddling, reading, dancing, hide and seek, cooking, and of course, swimming." Eugene replied.

"Obviously, we'd have to do all those things behind closed doors and in the middle of the night?" Rapunzel asked.

"That's right, Punzie," Eugene said, before pulling his boxers down and kicking them away to a corner of the bedroom.

Rapunzel couldn't help but giggle and blush at the sight of Eugene's undressed body as she got a good look from head to toe. She kept her eyes on certain parts of his birthday suit as Eugene walked around the room to pick up each article of his clothing. Eugene didn't bother with folding any of them and he put it all in a pile right next to Rapunzel's pile of clothes on the bed.

"Now that I've stripped down, Punzie, it's your turn now." Eugene declared, as he went back to stand in front of his fiancée.

Rapunzel got up from the bed, and Eugene began to untie the knot of her bathrobe until it was loose enough for him to take it off. Eugene threw her bathrobe on top of the bed before he walked over to pick up their cups of hot chocolate from the drawer. He slowly passed one of them over to Rapunzel and then they both took a seat on the bed before taking a sip of their hot chocolate.

"Now, isn't this great stuff or what?" Eugene inquired, as he was proud of himself for making something that wasn't terrible.

"It sure is tasty, Eugene, and I really like that you included lots of marshmallows!" Rapunzel responded with great pleasure.

"I'm quite glad to know that you enjoy it," Eugene said, as he leaned in to kiss Rapunzel on the lips. "I love you, Punzie."

"I love you too, Eugene." Rapunzel replied with a bright smile, before they continued to drink their hot chocolate in silence.

Eventually, Rapunzel's mind went off to think about when Jack would be coming back again, and what he would give her. All of a sudden, Rapunzel's heart began to feel much warmer, and she thought it was the hot chocolate she was drinking. When her heart started to beat a little faster, Rapunzel wondered why and how thinking of Jack could make her heart feel this way. . . .


	10. A Little Fun in Burgess

The only thing that Jack could think about as he flew to the North Pole wasn't Rapunzel's brown hair or even her fiancé, but what kind of gift that would be right to thank her for giving him the chance to feel her heartbeat, because it really meant a lot to him. Jack was sure that Rapunzel must have felt uncomfortable doing that, especially from the fact she had been wearing just a bathrobe, but he truly believed that she was dead, and so that was the only way for him to know for sure that she was really alive. This gift couldn't be frost lanterns, since Jack had already showed those to Rapunzel when she lived in the tower, and it couldn't be frost bunnies either, considering the fact he just showed those to cheer her up back inside her room in the castle of Corona. Perhaps it should be something from one of his fellow Guardians, such as a personal tour of North's Workshop or a visit to Bunny's Warren, or maybe a bag of Sandy's Dreamsand so that Rapunzel would always get to have sweet and peaceful dreams instead.

Suddenly, the expression of hope and anticipation that Jack had on his face disappeared when he began thinking more about his friends. Would the four of them really approve of Jack having this kind of contact with a young woman who wasn't even immortal like they were? Jack remembered that if if wasn't for him making a child believe in their existence, then they never would've been able to defeat Pitch. Any sort of thoughts Jack was having about what the Guardians would think of his friendship with Rapunzel vanished from his mind.

It wouldn't be odd for Jack to be late to the meeting, because he was always late, and his friends never did bother asking him what took so long. He saw North's workshop come into sight, and Jack usually preferred to make a big entrance so that everyone knew he finally arrived. With the help of the wind, Jack opened up a window and let a cold breeze go through the entire workshop as he went inside of it. Jack caught a glimpse of Bunny ruffling his fur and Tooth rubbing her feathery arms before his feet landed gracefully on the stone floor.

"What's up, guys, sorry to get you all chilly." Jack said, while sticking one hand in his hoodie pocket and leaning against his staff.

"That's what you always say, but at least you showed up." Bunnymund replied, before turning around to face North. "What's going on, mate?"

"Pitch has returned," North declared solemnly, and each Guardian's eyes widened. "He has not returned exactly, but he's getting stronger."

"Stronger, but how that's possible," Jack inquired, as he stepped forward. "The only way that can happen is if Pitch has believers." He added.

"Yes, that is correct, but people do believe in him now and I'll show you." North responded, while he walked closer toward the Globe of Belief.

"Although lights have been flickering in many locations, there are other lights that have just turned off in some of them." North explained.

He pressed a few controls to have the Globe turn in his direction so that he could show the other Guardians what locations he was talking about.

"Lights have gone off in a few cities across America, and especially in the same city where we fought Pitch; Burgess, Pennsylvania." North revealed.

Jack's eyes widened once again from knowing that Pitch was gaining believers in the exact same town where Jamie and his family lived.

"So, North, what's the plan?" Jack asked, as he wanted to protect how many kids were left in Burgess that hadn't been affected by Pitch.

"I suggest we send out a worker of our own to keep watch on each of these states, to make sure Pitch doesn't come back." North answered.

Jack didn't have any helpers like North had his elves and yetis, while Tooth had her mini-fairies, but he never found that to be a problem.

"I should take Burgess," Jack announced, and everyone else turned to look at him. "I've been there the most and the kids know who I am. . ."

"Good idea," Tooth agreed. "It's best to go there now, and besides, you'll get to see Jamie again, since you haven't seen him for a while."

Jack gave a nod of his head and just as he was prepared to leave, he remembered that he still didn't mention Rapunzel to the other Guardians. Now didn't seem like a good time at all, considering the fact they had to go after Pitch again, but Jack didn't want to risk losing his first believer. With that decided, Jack took off and flew out of the same window that he used to get inside North's workshop, and made his way for Burgess. Since Jack didn't ever like to be bored when flying, he decided to keep his mind busy with what he and Jamie should do together when they meet.

Jack thought it was a good idea not to mention Pitch around Jamie, not even once, because he didn't want to have the kid worrying so much. Whatever activity he would do with Jamie, it would have to be something completely new, and nothing like what they've done in the past. Jack already used his powers to help Jamie build a snowman in his own bedroom, freeze his drainpipes, and throw snowballs on the beach. Thinking about all of this only caused Jack's mind to focus on a conversation he had with North after he visited Rapunzel in the tower that same day.

When Jack finally reached North's workshop, he flew over to one of the fortress' big windows and tapped it with his staff for a total of three times.

"Open up, North!" Jack called out, as he looked through the glass window for a while until it was opened up by Phil, one of North's yeti workers.

"Oh. . .hey, Phil." Jack said, greeting the yeti, as he stepped onto the window sill, but he was taken aback from Phil grabbing him by his right foot.

"Hagahdghaderaba!" Phil grunted and growled as he carried Jack all the way to North's office and walked inside the room before dropping Jack.

"Aaahh!" Jack shouted, as he fell to the floor with a "Oof!" and he rubbed his head in agony before sitting up to find North staring down at him.

"Ah, Jack! Good to see you! I take it you received my call?" North asked confidently, as he saw that Jack had a very deep frown on his face.

"It was hard to miss." Jack answered sarcastically, as he was still unamused with the way that he was brought into North's office by Phil.

"So, Jack, tell me, where have you been?" North asked, as he watched the boy get back up on his feet. "What have you been to lately?"

Jack didn't want to bring up Rapunzel and how he spent his time with her to North, so Jack decided to tell a little white lie to him instead.

"The usual, North, giving snow days for kids, and when I'm not doing that, I'm just flying around, it always feels great to be up in the cold air." Jack fibbed.

"You still visit that boy who lives in that small town?" North asked. "Now, what was the name of it again? Oh, yes, Burgess." He added.

"Yes, North, I've been to Burgess, and by the way, that boy's name is Jamie Bennett, so why are you asking about him?" Jack inquired.

"He is part of the reason why I have called you here." North revealed, as he crossed his arms, and Jack quickly knew this was serious.

"Go on." Jack replied, while the look on his face was neutral, as it didn't have either a smile or a frown, and he waited for North to keep talking.

"Well, up here at the North Pole, I have received numerous reports of frozen pipes and snowmen made in the heat of summer in Burgess. The local people call them 'unexplained phenomena'. We both know that these things are not a coincidence, Jack." North explained sternly.

"So what if they're not?" Jack asked, as he definitely thought this conversation with North was becoming much more like an argument.

"Normally, I don't have to keep any of the Guardians on a leash, nor do I like to, but Jack, you seem to be an exception." North responded.

Jack was a lot more offended now from what North said, especially from the word 'leash'. "I'm in trouble for making a kid happy?" He asked.

"As a Guardian, you need to keep a lower profile! You need to start acting a little more mature, not doing petty things like freezing drainpipes! What would Jamie's mother think if she found a snowman on her son's bed?" North asked, while trying his best not to raise his voice.

"That's who I am, North! You should all have known what you were signing up for when you added me to your little gang! If you don't like it, then tough luck!" Jack shouted.

"This is not a choice, Jack. This is me telling you to stop being a child, and take on the title you were given! Leave the boy alone, and let him just believe in you, not see you. We are only supposed to be dreams and fantasies, not real friends who do whatever we want to do!" North commanded.

"North, I'm not bothering Jamie, he wants me to be there! I'm doing exactly what my job is, I'm bringing fun to kids! Maybe you should just stop policing me! What gives you the right to control what I do and how I do it? The children are happier when they can see us! You always say how you and the rest of the Guardians bring stuff like wonder and hope to them, but that's all a lie! All you do is just hide up here playing God!" Jack yelled.

North took a step backwards with a look of genuine shock on his face, because never before had he seen Jack become this angry, no one ever had.

"In case you've somehow forgotten, I had to suffer through three hundred years of complete isolation and loneliness! No one could see, hear, or even touch me for every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every month for three whole centuries! It filled me with so much pain and frustration to deal with lots of people paying no attention to me, and going right through me, as if I didn't exist, as if I was some kind of ghost!" Jack shouted.

Tears were now coming down Jack's eyes as the memories of what happened during those three hundred years all ran through his head. A few seconds passed before Jack noticed North timidly reach out to him, with his bearded face now plagued with guilt and sorrow. Despite the outburst that he just saw from Jack, North was hoping that he could come closer and give an embrace for the teenager.Unfortunately, it didn't seem like that would get to happen as Jack held up a hand to stop North from taking any more steps toward him.

"I don't want your pity, and it's too late for it anyway, and just a reminder, if I hadn't gotten Jamie and his friends to believe in me, then you guys would've all disappeared and Pitch would've taken over the world and there would've been nothing but fear and darkness, so you really should be thanking me for doing that."

North had to admit that Jack was right, if it hadn't been for his efforts, then they wouldn't have been able to defeat Pitch and have the children's faith in them restored. He realized that Jack had never chose to join him and the Guardians in their fight against Pitch, North had the boy kidnapped and just expected Jack to say "yes". They also were too harsh to believe that Jack purposely betrayed them to get his memories back and not even consider the possibility that Jack had been tricked. All of a sudden, North noticed out of the corner of his eye that Jack was heading for one of the windows and thanks to the wind's help, the window blew open.

"Jack, wait!" North shouted, but as soon as those words had left his mouth, Jack was already gone, and heading for the same town that they talked about.

Although Jack felt terrible even now about the things he said to North on that day, he still believed the man was very unreasonable with telling Jack of what he should do and not do. North had never told Jack to stay away from Jamie until that day, not even once, so what reason did North possibly have to demand for Jack that he keep his distance from the boy? Whatever that reason was, it didn't really matter to Jack now, since he and North had already buried the hatchet and let bygones be bygones, so Jack still had permission to visit Jamie.

As the American town finally came into Jack's sight, an idea had come to his mind at the same time, and fortunately, it was a brand new activity he and Jamie had never done in the past. Jamie's mother had to be fast asleep before they did this activity, which was for Jack to take Jamie personally for a flight and see the moon more up close than he'd ever seen it before. Jack was quite sure that Jamie would be a little scared of going through with the flight, but the kid wouldn't have anything to worry about, since he'll be in Jack's arms for the whole time.

He fell through the clouds, toward Burgess, and Jack could already see that the streets were empty, so it obviously meant everyone was sleeping, and he was off to Jamie's house. Right when Jack arrived, he flew to Jamie's bedroom window, and he quickly noticed the boy was sound asleep, but was also stirring around in his bed, as if Jamie was having a nightmare. Jack opened the window a little more, then he formed a snowflake in his hand before letting it glide off his fingertips and float across the room until the snowflake landed on the tip of Jamie's nose. Jack entered the room just as Jamie opened his eyes before sitting up on his bed, and a smile instantly came on both of their faces when they saw each other, and Jamie quickly got out of his bed.

"Jack, you're here!" Jamie said, as he gave Jack a hug, and he made sure to whisper since it was the middle of the night and he didn't want to wake up his mother or sister or worse, both of them.

"That's right, Jamie, and now that you're awake, we can have a little fun together, but before we do that, there's something that I want to know first, is your mom and Sophie asleep?" Jack asked.

"Yes, Jack, they both are, but why'd you want to know?" Jamie inquired, as he became a lot more curious to know why Jack would ask him that question.

"How would you like to go for a flight high above Burgess?" Jack asked, and he saw the expression on Jamie's face change from confusion to amusement.

"Wait a minute, Jack, when you say flight, you mean that we'll be as high as an airplane?" Jamie asked, wanting to be sure of what Jack just said to him.

"Yeah, Jamie, but I know it would be the first time, so I understand if you don't want to go through it, and we could do something else." Jack answered.

Jamie didn't respond to Jack right away, which must have meant he was taking a moment to think about Jack's offer, so Jack stood by and waited patiently.

"So, Jack, how long would this flight be?" Jamie asked, and Jack wasn't all that surprised the boy's reply to him hadn't been either a 'yes' or even a 'no'.

"As long as you want it to be, Jamie, or at least before your mom wakes up, because we wouldn't want her to think you've been kidnapped." Jack responded.

Jamie nodded his head in agreement, since the last thing that he wanted was for his mother to get worried and believe something bad happened to him. After that, a moment of silence had come between Jack and Jamie, as if they were waiting for the other person to say something, but Jamie went ahead.

"Well, what are we waiting for, Jack? Let's go!" Jamie shouted quietly, as he walked over to the window, and saw Jack bend down with his back to him.

Jamie quickly got himself onto Jack's back and he also wrapped his arms around the Guardian's neck before Jack flew out of the window with staff in hand. Jack bent down once again so Jamie could get off his back, and he dropped his staff on the snowy ground below before standing on top of it with his feet.

"Hey, Jack, why do you need to do that?" Jamie asked, as he wanted to know why it was necessary for Jack to stand on the thing he used to fly around.

"I'm going to carry you in my arms during the flight, so I can't hold my staff, but I'll be riding on it like a snowboarder for the whole time." Jack explained.

"That sounds so cool, but have you ever tried it before, and what I mean by that is have you carried someone while riding your staff?" Jamie asked.

"No, Jamie, you'll be the first, but you don't need to worry, I won't let you go, I would never let that happen, and you do trust me, right?" Jack asked.

Jack bent down on his knees and held out both of his arms, then he watched as Jamie walked over to his left side and stood with his back to him. Jamie closed his eyes and took a deep breath before allowing himself to fall, and to his relief, Jack caught the boy, having one arm under his knees. The Guardian had his other arm firmly placed underneath Jamie's back, and he stood up on his feet, while being glad to know he did have Jamie's trust.

"Hey, wind, take us up!" Jack shouted, while looking up at the sky, and the two boys could notice the trees swaying and their leaves flying into the air.

Jamie began to feel more nervous from what was happening, but he didn't have to worry about his mother hearing Jack, since she didn't believe in him.

"Get ready, Jamie, it's coming," Jack announced, as he kept his eyes wide open and Jamie closed his eyes shut as the wind began to blow past both of them.

Only less then about ten seconds had passed by as the wind carried Jack and Jamie up high into the air, and above the clouds that remained in the night sky.

"Woooooo-hoooooooooo!" Jack shouted in joy as he took in the sights below. "You should open your eyes, Jamie, you really need to see this!" He persuaded.

Jamie's eyes slowly opened, and although his heart started to palpitate when he brought her head down, Jamie couldn't resist to ignore the view below him. Never before in his whole life had Jamie seen his hometown look so small, and knowing that he finally had the chance caused the boy to feel a lot more happy. He could say it was like having a dream come true, especially since there were times when Jamie would imagine of what it would be like for him to actually fly. Of course, Jamie had always believed it was nothing more than a fantasy that would never come to life, but that all changed when he believed in Jack Frost.

Jamie didn't want Jack to know this, but sometimes, he would feel jealous of how Jack got to travel around the world and see so many cities and continents. Even though it was part of Jack's job to go from one place to another to spread his winter magic, it didn't stop Jamie from feeling a twinge of envy at times. Having this emotion would frequently get Jamie to think very hard of a way to be a Guardian himself and gather more believers for Jack and all his friends. Jack did tell Jamie that he was kind of a Guardian if him and the other Guardians would always be in his heart, but Jamie hasn't been feeling like one lately.

The boy wondered if whether or not he should tell Jack about this, and he also thought if Jack would make the time to help him feel more like a Guardian. It happened to be the middle of Winter right now, so it was definitely considered to be a rare occasion for Jack to take time off from his job to visit Jamie. Who knew of when would be the next time that Jack would decide to show up in Burgess again, so that idea caused Jamie to decide he would tell Jack. Speaking of Jack, he noticed that Jamie had been silent for quite a while, but it wasn't so hard for Jack to figure out that something was on Jamie's mind.

"Hey, Jamie?" Jack asked, and hearing his name caused Jamie to look up and face him. "Now usually when you're quiet, that means something's wrong."

"Oh, nothing's wrong with the flight, Jack, if that's what you're thinking, and I was just wondering if you could help me become a Guardian." Jamie said.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'become a Guardian?" Jack asked, before giving Jamie a questioning look. "Don't you remember what I told you on the lake?"

"Yes, but to be honest, I haven't been feeling like one lately, especially since more kids in Burgess have stopped believing in you guys." Jamie revealed.

Jack obviously knew this was happening because of Pitch, but he still didn't want to tell Jamie and risk having the boy scared that Pitch will come for him.

"If you think the Boogeyman has returned, that's not true, and you should know because you helped me and the Guardians defeat him." Jack reminded.

"How do you explain kids looking tired and depressed, the same way that my friends used to feel when Pitch had given them nightmares." Jamie inquired.

"They're probably staying up very late and not getting enough sleep, or there must be a personal emergency that's going on in their lives." Jack assured.

A frown had begun to appear on Jamie's face, as the boy was sure Jack didn't believe what he just told him, and Jamie couldn't help but feel disappointed. This was something that Jack caught on to, and he took a moment to think of how he could take Jamie's mind away from what was happening in Burgess. It didn't take Jack so long to have an idea, and even though it was something they've done before, Jack was hoping that Jamie wanted to go through with it.

"You know, Jamie, I think that we've spent enough time up here in the sky, so how about we go for an epic sled ride through the town?" Jack suggested.

Jamie was silent for a while, which caused Jack to believe that he didn't want to go sledding, but that changed when Jack saw a smile appear on Jamie's face.

"Hey, wind, take us down!" Jack shouted, before he felt the wind carry both of them lower until finally, he was back to standing on the snowy white ground.

Jack carefully let Jamie get down from his arms, since it wasn't necessary to carry him anymore, and he stepped off his staff so that he could hold it again.

"Obviously, the only thing you'll need is your sled, Jamie, and I can go inside and get it for you, but you just have to tell me where it is first." Jack requested.

"It's up in my room, Jack, and I'm sure it won't be too hard for you to find my sled, since you already know what it looks like, right?" Jamie asked curiously.

"Sure I do, it's red and made of wood." Jack answered, impressing Jamie with his memory before he flew up to the boy's bedroom window and went inside.

After finding Jamie's sled, Jack made sure to have the window closed and arranged the bed so it would look like Jamie never left and he was still sleeping.

Jack carried the sled with one hand while he had his staff in the other as he flew down to the ground and handed the sled over to its' rightful owner.

"Thanks, Jack," Jamie said, expressing his gratitude, as he brought his sled over to the road before carefully lying down on top of it with his stomach.

Jack knelt down as he brought the g-shaped arch of his shepherd's staff close to the road, but too close for his staff to actually touch the black concrete.

"Are you ready, Jamie?" Jack asked, while facing the boy, and when Jamie nodded his head excitedly, Jack used his staff to create a sheet of ice on the road.

Jamie's sled picked up speed as it slid down the icy road, and Jack gently guided him onto the path, making sure he didn't accidentally veer off into the snow. Both of them still remembered the very first time that Jamie had been sledding like this, when it was daytime and there was a lot of traffic in the streets. During that time, Jamie felt scared and he didn't believe in Jack, but now, he had no reason to be afraid, because he knew Jack was looking out for him.

They didn't have to worry about Jamie colliding with a car, since it was the middle of the night, which meant all the vehicles were parked in a garage. No one usually went out at this time of night, so the chances of someone discovering Jamie going through Burgess' streets on his sled were very slim. Jack wanted to make this the best sled ride ever for Jamie, so he had the boy slide through every street possible, as if the town was some kind of race track.

However, Jack knew that no matter how much fun Jamie was having at the moment, it couldn't go on forever, so he decided to give the sled ride a big finish. He thought maybe Jamie would like to go flying, so flew ahead to change the pathway of the ice trail, and Jamie's sled turned onto a newly formed ice ramp. Just as he was going to make a fresh mound of snow for Jamie to land into, Jack heard a voice, and to his surprise, it wasn't the voice of his late sister.

It was Rapunzel's voice, but how was that possible, since the only memories Jack had were from the tower, her previous home, and the castle in Corona. Could it be that the reason why Jack constantly thought of those memories and wanted to see Rapunzel was because he felt some kind of feelings for her? Before he could actually take more time to think about it, Jack brought his mind back to Jamie, and that's when his eyes widened from what he saw happen. Instead of falling right in front of the statue of the colonial settler and town's founder, Thaddeus Burgess, Jamie's head made contact with the statue itself. It wasn't until Jamie had tumbled off his sled and fell onto the ground that Jack regained his senses and flew down so he could cradle the boy in his arms.

"Oh, Jamie, I'm so sorry," Jack whispered, while having one of his hands under the boy's back. "It's going to be okay, I'm here, you're going to be fine."

Jack's attempt to stay positive didn't work out for him as he slowly moved his other hand from below Jamie's head to see it was covered in fresh blood. The sight of this red liquid caused Jack's hand to tremble, and his mouth went agape to find that more blood was coming from the back of Jamie's head. If blood still ran in Jack's veins, then it froze where it was, and his heart skipped a few beats before stopping altogether, and his mind ran in panicked circles. Jamie needed to be taken to a hospital immediately, but how could Jack explain to someone how Jamie got hurt if no one at the hospital believed in him?

None of Jamie's friends were awake right now, and the last thing Jack wanted to happen was for them to find out that Jamie had been seriously injured. Jack started to think of taking Jamie back to the Guardians when he felt a crushing shame; he had failed a child, and they were not to know about this. He had failed in his duty to protect a child, and in fact, he had been the one to hurt Jamie in the first place. Maybe not intentionally, but it happened, and there was no changing it. Bunnymund had once accused Jack of not looking after children enough, and the rabbit had insisted that Jack cared more about fun than a child's safety.

At the time, the words had angered Jack, and he'd hotly and immediately defended himself, but now he realized that the older Guardian was absolutely right. He hadn't been looking out for Jamie, or thinking about protecting him; he hadn't been thinking of how much fun they were going to have, and how that streak of ice was going to make the best sled ride ever for the boy. He'd been thinking of a girl who had been happily living a life without him. Despite living three hundred years alone, Jack was not very good in a crisis. When he was injured, he could mostly control the panic long enough to patch himself up, and then try to calm himself down by unleashing a huge blizzard somewhere. When he felt scared for himself, he quelled the fear very well.

When Jack was scared for a child, the avenues of terror that he could wander down were endless; what if the child had a concussion? What if the child had permanent head trauma? What if the child ended up dead? Jack didn't want any of those scenarios to happen for Jamie, but if the boy didn't get medical attention immediately, then all those scenarios won't be so improbable. Even though he felt reluctant about going though with it, Jack decided to take Jamie back to his house, since it wouldn't be right for Ms. Bennett to have no knowledge of his son's injury. With the boy in his arms, and his staff underneath his feet, Jack flew to his first believer's house as fast as he could, but then Jack wondered of how he was going to get the woman's attention.

Jamie was unconscious at the moment, so it's not like him and Jack could work together to come up with a story of how Jamie managed to sneak out of his home and end up with his head bleeding out from the back. If the winter spirit stayed in Jamie's house for too long, then Jack would bring down the temperature, so he had to get the boy inside his home, alert his mother and get himself out of the house as quick as possible. When the brown-haired boy's house was finally in his sight, Jack used the wind to open up Jamie's bedroom window and fly through the opening literally, which ended with Jack landing with his back on Jamie's bed. Jack let out a sigh of relief from the safe landing, but then his eyes widened another time from realizing he'd forgotten Jamie's sled near the town's statue, but Jack decided he would return it to the house as soon as Jamie was being taken care of at the hospital.

Fortunately, it didn't take Jack so long to find Ms. Bennett's bedroom, and once he was inside, Jack gently laid Jamie down right next to where his mother was sleeping, and since he wanted her to wake up, Jack used his staff to set off the alarm clock on the bedside table. Hearing the loud ringing noise caused Ms. Bennett to rise up suddenly, and bring a hand out to find her glasses from the table and she put them on before turning off the alarm clock and she turned on a lamp after that. When she noticed her son's motionless body on the bed, Ms. Bennett simply believed that Jamie had a nightmare or he couldn't sleep, but both of those assumptions went out of her mind when she saw the back of his head. Jack had already gotten himself out of the house before this happened, and Ms. Bennett quickly got herself out of bed, and she ran over to pick up Jamie in her arms from the other side before making her way to Sophie's room.

Ms. Bennett didn't even bother with getting her daughter out of her pajamas because Sophie could just wear boots and a jacket to keep herself warm, since Ms. Bennett didn't want to leave Sophie on her own in the house. Once she made it down to the living room, Ms. Bennett laid her son carefully on the sofa, then had Sophie sit right next to her brother before running into the kitchen so she can find the phone and call for an ambulance to arrive. Jack decided not to wait any longer in getting Jamie's sled, since it wouldn't have made any sense to make it look as if Jamie got himself hurt and somehow managed to make it all the way back to his house without using his sled. Since he was flying at a very fast pace, Jack found the sled in practically no time at all, and he flew right back to the house while holding the sled with one hand, then he put the sled in the exact same place where he saw it earlier.

Before he even left the room, Jack heard the sound of a howling siren and he looked out the window to see an ambulance flying down the street at top speed, running red lights, and obviously heading toward Jamie's house. Jack made sure to have the window closed before he flew out of Jamie's room, and as his bare feet met the snow covered ground, he watched as one of the EMT men come out the back of the ambulance and approach Ms. Bennett. The EMT man asked Jamie's mother a few questions in a brisk and professional voice, regarding the nature of her son's accident, such as when and where Jamie had been when he got hurt, but Ms. Bennett was truly at a loss for words. Obviously, she knew Jamie had received an injury to the head, but Ms. Bennett literally didn't know how he got it, and because she didn't believe in Jack, he couldn't be able to give her an explanation for what happened to her son.

The EMT man figured Ms. Bennett was in a state of shock, so he brought the woman and her daughter into the ambulance, not before Jamie was laid carefully on a stretcher and put in the back. The white doors were slammed shut, and the ambulance took off once more. Jack had never liked cars much; they were slower than flying, and in his rather adrenaline-junkie-crazed eyes, that made them rather boring as well. But tonight, he clung to the side of the car, leaving a trail of frost on the windows because he couldn't control the panic seizing him. When the ambulance finally arrived at the hospital, Jamie was brought in through a pair of green double doors into the emergency room, and Jack followed as closely as he could, while trying not to bring the temperature down too many degrees in his fear. He was actually wringing his hands as he followed them down the hallway, and into a small room, leaving everybody except Ms. Bennett and Sophie outside to get their own heads checked, even though Ms. Bennett insisted that there was nothing wrong with them.

Jack chose to follow Ms. Bennett, as he knew that there was nothing wrong with her unless you counted shock. When he got his first good look at Jamie again, he shook so badly that he had to lean against the wall to hold himself up, and then slide down to the tiled, rubbing alcohol-scented floor. When he took a glimpse at his hands, Jack noticed they were still stained with Jamie's blood, and since he didn't want the boy to see this and panic when he woke up, Jack found a restroom to wash his hands off, but it didn't work out so well as the sink's water quickly froze to his touch. Once he came out of the restroom, Jack could see doctors filing in and out, giving reports on the boy. A smiling nurse came in and filled up five sheets on a clipboard on what Jack assumed to be information about Jamie, and fortunately, it didn't take so long for Jack to find the boy's mother. As Ms. Bennett was his legal guardian, and Jamie was a minor, she was permitted to stay in the room while the doctors slowly inspected the injury, washed the blood away, and began to stitch, while Jack sat down on a nearby chair, but kept his feet off the floor to avoid leaving a trail of frost.

Jamie awoke halfway through the process and he demanded to know why they were messing with his head and he kept asking what was going on. Ms. Bennett was trying to answer his questions as best as she could, and Jack found it a little odd that the boy wasn't asking for him. He had been the last person Jamie saw before the accident, so it would've made sense for the child to want to find out where the Guardian of Fun was, but still, Jamie didn't mention Jack at least one time, and it was also strange when Jamie said he didn't remember going out of his house tonight.

Jack simply believed that Jamie wasn't mentioning him because he was angry at the moment, and honestly, he couldn't blame the boy for feeling that way; none of this would've ever happened if Jack had kept his attention to Jamie and then he wouldn't have hit his head on the town's statue. The immortal teen got himself off from the chair and shakily made his way over to the bedside, as Jack wanted to take Jamie's hand and tell the boy he was sorry what he'd done, but when his hand ran right though Jamie's body, Jack staggered back in shock, unable to believe what just happened. Jack stayed by Jamie's side until the stitches were completed and one of the doctors decided that Jamie would stay overnight to be safe, and when Ms. Bennett finally felt that everything was settled long enough to use the restroom, Jack believed now was a good time to talk to the boy.

"I'm so sorry, Jamie." Jack said, as he knelt down beside his bed so they were at eye level. "This is all my fault, I should have been watching you after I sent your sled flying, and I wasn't, all because I was thinking of someone else, a person who doesn't even live here in Burgess." Jack revealed.

Jack had expected Jamie to be curious and ask him about who he was thinking of before he hit his head, but the boy remained silent, which led to Jack presuming that Jamie was still upset and pretending he wasn't next to him, but Jack felt that he deserved it and so he continued talking.

"It doesn't matter who I was thinking about at that time, what matters now is that I'm going to be a lot more careful when we spend time together, meaning I'll never take my eyes off you for every time that we have a snowball fight or even a sled ride through town." Jack promised.

A few seconds passed before Jack made another attempt to touch Jamie by resting his hand on the boy's shoulder, but his eyes went wide as his hand ran through Jamie's body again, and Jack was all too familiar with this from the three hundred years of isolation and loneliness he suffered. Was it possible that the accident had caused Jamie to unintentionally lose his belief, trust and faith in Jack, and perhaps the other Guardians too? Jack shook his head in disbelief, as he refused to believe that was true, and thought this was just a nightmare that he would wake up from soon. Even though all of it seemed too real to be a nightmare, Jack didn't want to think otherwise, and he assumed his mind was playing a trick on him. Suddenly, Jack heard footsteps and he turned his head to notice Ms. Bennett returning, so Jack quickly moved himself away from Jamie's hospital bed.

"Hi, Jamie, how are you feeling," Ms. Bennett asked as she sat down on a chair next to her son's bed. "Would you like something to drink right now?"

"Yes, Mom, and I'm a little cold too." Jamie replied, and Jack obviously knew it was because of him that Jamie's body temperature had gone down.

"I'll ask a doctor to give you a blanket," Ms. Bennett said while getting up from her chair. "Besides, you don't want Jack Frost nipping at your nose."

Jack had expected Jamie to tell her mother that Jack was real, and he could see Jack, and Jack was here with them, but Jamie didn't say any of that. Instead, the boy just said three words, and it was a question that Jack was sure would never come out of Jamie's mouth until he was an old man. . .


	11. Midnight Snack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to change the story's rating, not only because this chapter features a lot of heavy M-rated content, but also because it may be the same for any future chapters I write.

Rapunzel figured that the reason her heart felt more warm than usual was because of the hot chocolate, and the reason her heart started to beat faster was because she told Eugene that she loved him, which she did. She refused to believe that it had anything to do with Jack, even though the reunion she had with him not so long ago was quite emotional. Jack had actually thought Rapunzel was dead, and she couldn't even imagine how Jack must have felt when he returned to her former home. Nonetheless, Jack fulfilled his promise to come and see her again and he now had knowledge that she was alive and well with her real family.

Somehow, Rapunzel felt a desire for Jack to visit her once more, but she wasn't sure if it's because he would give her something when he did. Whatever it was, Rapunzel wouldn't be standing near any windows to find out, because she had a fiancé who could give her plenty of attention. After they were finished with their hot chocolate, Eugene took the cups back to the kitchen, but not before getting himself dressed again, since he didn't want Rapunzel's parents or anyone else to be alarmed from his nudity. Since she didn't want to get too cold, Rapunzel put on her bathrobe as she waited for Eugene to return, which he did after ten minutes passed.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Punzie," Eugene said, before closing the door and starting to strip. "Now we can go back to our new hobby." He added.

A smirk came on Eugene's face as he watched Rapunzel get up from the bed and take off her bathrobe, letting it fall to the floor, leaving her unclothed. By the time this happened, Eugene had already taken off his belt, along with both of his boots, and he was now starting to get out of his black vest.

"So, what should we do now?" Rapunzel asked curiously while walking closer to Eugene. "Is it my turn, or do you have an idea in mind?" She inquired.

"I do," Eugene replied seductively, as he now bared his broad shoulders, along with his hairy chest and stomach after he rid himself of his white shirt.

"And what's your idea, Fitzherbert?" Rapunzel inquired, as her nude body stood inches away from Eugene's, which wore only pants and blue boxers.

"We dance." Eugene responded, before undoing his pants and pushing them down his legs like he did earlier. "We took lessons, remember?" He asked.

Rapunzel didn't respond right away since she was focused on Eugene lifting his bare feet out of his pants before pushing them aside with just one foot. Ever since Rapunzel had returned to her home and reunited with her parents, she had to take up loads of new classes on etiquette, history, and the like. Part of being royalty, invariably, meant learning how to dance, so twice a week, Eugene and Rapunzel had been attending dance lessons together.

Unsurprisingly, Rapunzel found that of all the classes she was taking, it was these dance lessons that had quickly become the highlight of her week. In what had become a hustle and bustle of never-ending royal affairs and duties, the dance lessons meant more time to spend with Eugene, even if it was in the presence of an instructor. Eugene, for his part, made it a point to make the best of their time together.

He would purposefully misstep and improvise moves that had absolutely no place in a proper waltz to make Rapunzel laugh, and he made it a point to twirl her or dip her when he was not supposed to several times per class. In short, the two of them spent so much time giggling and flirting and laughing that they generally made very little progress in the way of becoming better dancers. Their instructor, for better or for worse, tolerated their antics with the patience of a saint.

"Yes, I remember." Rapunzel answered, as she slowly slipped her fingers into the waistband of Eugene's underwear and slowly started tugging it down.

Eugene kept his head lowered and watched Rapunzel, while the garment dragged across his bulge, and Eugene's manhood finally came bobbing out. He exhaled as the love of his life continued to drag the boxers down his thighs, and he lifted his legs so that Rapunzel could take them off completely. Now that the two of them were completely naked, a lust had taken over the couple entirely, as they wanted to devour each other right then and there.

However, Eugene and Rapunzel both reminded themselves that they made an agreement to do whatever they wanted in the nude except have sex. Eugene cleared his throat as he slowly brought up both of his hands for Rapunzel to take in hers, and a few seconds passed before Eugene moved again. He started to sway, slowly alternating his bare shoulders back and forth in a poor attempt to sashay, and Rapunzel laughed as she tried to do the same thing as him.

"Isn't this so romantic, babe?" Eugene asked with a grin, and Rapunzel rolled her eyes, but she still let Eugene spin her as they switched places on the floor.

Rapunzel couldn't help but laugh again as Eugene went in for a spin himself, lifting their joined hands up into the air for Eugene to spin underneath them. Their moves varied as Eugene and Rapunzel continued to dance stark naked to the music only both of them seemed to be able to hear in their head. There were moments when the couple had one hand wrapped around each other's shoulders, while they enjoyed the sight of their nude bodies. Eugene's gaze has settled on her now, and the previous teasing in his eyes has been replaced by a look of awe.

Rapunzel could only meet his piercing gaze for a moment before she blushed under its intensity and looked down, overwhelmed by the love she saw reflected in his eyes. The girl let a shy smile play on her lips and grasped him a little tighter. Their fingers intertwined as they swayed from side-to-side in extremely exaggerated motions, and tilted their bodies from one direction to the other.

Rapunzel had gone back to sashaying back and forth, bringing out her shoulders while they're both at it, and they spun each other all over again, trying out different ways that only ended in laughter. All of a sudden, Eugene grasped at Rapunzel's waist with both of his hands and lifted her. Rapunzel felt her heart leap into her chest as Eugene held her high, and she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips and the smile that crossed her face as she reveled in the splendid sensation of flying.

Eugene held Rapunzel up for a precious few seconds longer, to keep her soaring as long as possible, before at last, he gently set her down. Feeling for all the world lighter than air, Rapunzel finally found her feet and turned back to face him. Rapunzel's heart was still racing from the flight, and with one of her hands across Eugene's bare chest, she swore she could feel his heart pounding too. The princess brought her head up to meet Eugene's eyes and found that he was still gazing at her.

Rapunzel suddenly couldn't take her eyes away from his, and she was quickly growing breathless for all sorts of reasons, none of which had to do with the lift. The young woman grasped onto Eugene's shoulders to steady herself, and their faces were now just a short breath away. In a single, fluid motion that's every bit as effortless, gentle, and surprising as their lift, Eugene suddenly moved forward, as he put a hand behind Rapunzel's waist, pulling her close. Eugene brought his other hand to cradle Rapunzel's cheek for an instant, and then his lips were on hers, stealing her breath away.

Rapunzel's eyes fluttered shut on instinct, but she nevertheless let out a small gasp of surprise at the sudden movement, before she melted into Eugene's arms and returned the tender and unexpected kiss. Eugene and Rapunzel moved together just like they did in their dance, and Rapunzel fleetingly tried to memorize it all. The way Eugene put his hand on her bare back and pulled her close, the soft, gentle pattern he traced on her lips, the way he sighed oh so gently when she pulled him closer and let her hands get tangled into his hair.

Eugene pulled away for but a moment only to cup Rapunzel's chin and brush his lips over hers again, a hovering, teasing sensation that drove his future wife wild, and she swore that she could lose herself to more moments like these. Rapunzel settled into the rhythm of it all and took charge by wrapping an arm around Eugene's neck and pulling him in for a series of soft and gentle kisses. Eugene gasped at her sudden boldness, and Rapunzel kissed him soundly for a few lingering moments longer before she realized that for all the magic of this moment, the real world beckoned.

Rapunzel put her hands on Eugene's jaw and kissed him firmly one last time before they parted at last and came up for air. They leaned their foreheads against one another's as they caught their breath before they finally meet each others gazes'. Rapunzel blushed in spite of herself. Where did that come from? Eugene laughed at her embarrassment and pulled her in for another quick, and fleeting kiss before giving her a completely innocent grin.

"I don't know about you, Punzie, but all that dancing's made me hungry." Eugene whispered, and Rapunzel slowly pulled back to face her future husband.

"Eugene, I thought we agreed earlier, no sex before the wedding." Rapunzel replied, and she was caught off guard as Eugene put a finger over her mouth.

"I didn't mean that, Punzie, not that I'd be complaining," Eugene said, which caused Rapunzel to roll her eyes again. "I could really enjoy a midnight snack."

"There's only two problems, Eugene. It's not even midnight yet, and I don't think anyone would approve of our nudity if they saw us." Rapunzel informed.

"You're right, Punzie, that's why we'll wait until it's midnight, so by that time, everyone will be fast asleep and we won't get caught." Eugene advised.

Rapunzel didn't answer right away as she ran her hand down Eugene's naked chest, which was still very muscular, and brushed her fingers against his belly. Her fingers then pinched at his side, trying to grab onto any fat that lingered there, but there barely was any. Rapunzel also waited for Eugene's stomach to make any sort of rumbling or growling, but no sound ever came.

"Are you sure that you're hungry, Eugene, because you had plenty to eat at dinner." Rapunzel reminded, while still keeping her hand on Eugene's chest.

"I know, Punzie, but I don't want a full meal," Eugene said, as he slowly ran his hand around Rapunzel's back. "I just want us to do something fun again."

Eugene used his other hand to stroke Rapunzel's cheek as he gave her a soft smile, and she leaned into the touch, knowing Eugene was being sincere.

"Okay, Eugene, but how can we pass the time," Rapunzel responded, while she continued to gaze into his eyes. "We've already done plenty of dancing."

Rapunzel kept quiet as she let the former thief think for a moment before he eventually tilted his head, bringing his attention to the bed not far away.

"Why don't we cuddle?" Eugene suggested, as he slowly brought his hand down from Rapunzel's cheek and used it to take one of Rapunzel's hands.

Eugene intertwined their fingers as he led Rapunzel over to the bed, and with his other hand, Eugene pulled back the covers before facing Rapunzel.

"Ladies first." Eugene spoke softly, and Rapunzel smiled from Eugene being courteous, then she gave a nod before getting herself beneath the covers.

The bed shifted with Eugene's weight, and soon his arms were around Rapunzel's body, as she tangled her bare legs with his and took his hands in hers.

"So, what should we call this hobby," Rapunzel said, as she felt Eugene rest his head on her shoulder. "I really believe it needs a name." She added.

"How about 'naked time'," Eugene whispered, as he kept his mouth to Rapunzel's ear. "I think it fits, since we're naked, no matter what we're doing."

"Naked time sounds perfect." Rapunzel replied, before eventually closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep, while unbeknownst to her, Eugene had done the exact same thing.

As Rapunzel woke up a few hours later, she realized that her mouth had been feeling rather dry, so she thought that a glass of water would help take care of it. Rapunzel turned slightly in Eugene's embrace, placing a warm kiss against his jawline before carefully extracting herself and slipping quietly out of bed. The princess put on her purple cotton robe and tied its knot before heading into the bathroom, where she turned on the light and quickly closed the door, so she wouldn't disrupt Eugene's sleep.

What Rapunzel didn't know after she found a glass and turned on the sink was that her bedroom window had slowly come open, thanks to a familiar face who used the wind as help to open up the window. When she had the glass half-full with water, Rapunzel turned off the sink and she took a sip before opening the bathroom door and turning off the light with the hand that wasn't holding the glass.

"Hey, Punz." A voice said, and obviously knowing that voice, and who used that nickname for her, Rapunzel turned to see Jack, but since his arrival caught her by surprise, Rapunzel gasped while letting go of her glass of water.

Jack zapped the glass quickly with a burst a frost from his staff, freezing both the cup and the water inside. When it finally made contact with the floor, the glass made a loud bump, which caused Eugene to rise his head from off the bed. Rapunzel and Jack's eyes widened in unison as they both stared at the back of Eugene's head.

They wondered if the noise had gotten Eugene to wake up, but a few seconds passed until Eugene lowered his head down on the bed. Rapunzel breathed a huge sigh of relief before bringing her attention to Jack, who chucked for a bit before he closed his eyes and gave Rapunzel a wide grin on his face. The winter spirit expected Rapunzel to smile and laugh along with him, but instead, he yelped in pain as the girl smacked him on the head before covering his mouth.

"Be quiet, Jack, or you'll wake up Eugene!" Rapunzel whispered, and she continued to glare at Jack even after he had pulled her hand off from his pale lips.

"Hey, Punz, if I hadn't froze that glass of yours, then he'd already be awake by now!" Jack spoke softy, as he couldn't believe that Rapunzel didn't thank him.

"My parents don't believe in you, Jack, so how will I explain my glass becoming an icicle?" Rapunzel inquired, before looking down at the frozen glass at her feet.

"You don't have to." Jack replied, as he bent down and picked up the frozen glass before he walked over to the window, which he left still open this whole time.

Rapunzel gasped as she watched Jack throw the frozen glass out of the window, and she felt an urge to march right over to Jack and smack him on the head again. As much as Rapunzel was absolutely mad with Jack from what he did, she realized that he was visiting her for a reason, and she was sure it wasn't just to say hi. However, Rapunzel didn't want to keep on whispering to Jack anymore, so she went over to the window and closed it shut before grabbing Jack by his blue hoodie.

Jack didn't feel like complaining, since Rapunzel was taking him somewhere private, which meant Jack could give Rapunzel the gift that he promised her once they were alone. Rapunzel opened the bedroom's main door and closed it as quietly as possible with one hand, but not before pulling Jack through the open door with the other. Rapunzel decided that they should go to the library, since nobody would be in there at this time of night, and she's been to the library so many times that she knew how to get there by heart. When she finally reached the library's entrance, Rapunzel opened up the door wide open, and threw Jack inside the room, but tried not to be so hard as she did that.

"Wow, Punz, you've certainly become a lot stronger from the last time we saw each other." Jack complimented, then he watched Rapunzel close the library doors.

"Why are you here, Jack?" Rapunzel asked, as she didn't feel like thanking Jack for his words, but she did make sure to have herself standing face to face with him.

"Don't you remember, Punz? You said that I could stop by your castle and give you a present," Jack replied, before he put one of his hands into this hoodie pocket.

"Of course I remember, Jack, I just didn't think that you would come back so soon." Rapunzel said, even though she wasn't really upset that Jack showed up again.

"I believe a few hours is better than a whole year, right?" Jack inquired, as he still felt a little awful for taking so long to fulfill his promise to Rapunzel and see her.

"Yes, that's true, so anyway, what's your gift for me?" Rapunzel asked, and she wondered if it would be something made out of Jack's powers, but it wasn't that.

Rapunzel couldn't help but gasp in awe as she saw Jack take a golden necklace from out of his hoodie pocket, and Rapunzel stood still as Jack walked closer with it.

"It's a dream catcher, and it was made by Sandy, or who you know as the Sandman." Jack explained, and then he put the dream catcher around Rapunzel's neck.

"Jack, it's beautiful," Rapunzel responded, as she gazed at the dream catcher before something came to mind. "What should I tell Eugene if he sees it?" She asked.

"Unless your fiancé believes in the Sandman, he probably won't, but if he does, then just say that the Sandman gave you an early Christmas present." Jack replied.

"Thanks, Jack, I love it," Rapunzel said, as her anger toward him faded away, and she didn't stop Jack from coming close enough to wrap his arms around her body.

Rapunzel thought it was fair to hug him back, and as she brought her own arms around Jack, her fingers came in chilling contact with his back, and even though he was wearing a hoodie, Rapunzel could feel the naturally cold skin from underneath. She didn't mind the feeling so much, since Rapunzel already knew what it felt like to embrace Jack when she lived in the tower, as she remembered the two of them hugging each other before Jack left. When they finally pulled away, Jack and Rapunzel stared at one another for a while as his breath mingled with hers and he let his mind contemplate for a moment. Eventually, Jack brought his eyes towards Rapunzel's lips for a brief second, then he closed his striking cerulean eyes and closed the gap without a second thought.

Rapunzel's eyes widened in surprise as this happened, and she could feel the electricity of the cold transfer from Jack's lips onto hers from one simple sweep. It felt bitter cold and seemed almost painful as Jack leaned forward and cupped Rapunzel's face with a white skin hand while pressing his lips harder against hers. Jack only pulled away for a moment, just long enough for Rapunzel to catch a breath before he lowered both of his hands down to the knot of Rapunzel's robe. It wasn't until Rapunzel noticed Jack beginning to untie the knot that caused her to panic, and she quickly slapped her hands on Jack's to stop him from finishing.

"Wait, Jack, what are you doing?" Rapunzel inquired, as she really wanted to know why Jack was trying to get her naked when he knew of her forthcoming marriage.

"I know you belong to another man, Punz, and I know you're going to get married in the future, but I want you to be mine, even if it's just one night." Jack requested.

"No, Jack, we can't do this," Rapunzel responded, as she pushed him back with her hands. "I mean, what if Eugene wakes up and comes looking for me?" She asked.

"Well then, I guess that we shouldn't waste any time now, huh?" Jack said, and before Rapunzel could even answer back, Jack already had his lips against hers again.

Rapunzel tried to resist and pull away, but to no avail, as Jack went on to lay kisses all over every part of her face, and then he gently sucked on each side of her neck. The princess moaned pleasurably as she raised her hands slowly to get tangled in Jack's messy hair, and eventually, he returned to untying the knot of her robe. This time, Rapunzel didn't make an attempt to stop Jack, but decided to help him out by bringing her arms down, which led to Jack successfully taking her robe off. As Rapunzel's robe fell down and hit the floor, it joined Jack's staff, along with the dream catcher, both of which had been dropped from the moment they first kissed.

Rapunzel slid her dainty fingers underneath Jack's hoodie and started to pull it up, and that became much easier when Jack raised his arms to get it over his head. Jack moaned in delight as Rapunzel kissed him on his shoulders and collarbone before trailing kisses down his chest as she nipped, licked, and nibbled his bare skin. The boy watched as Rapunzel got down on her knees and started to loosen his belt, and Jack was impressed with how she got it off his pants in practically seconds. Rapunzel tugged on Jack's pants as hard as she could to get them down his legs and off his feet, and since he didn't wear any underwear, Jack was left completely naked like Rapunzel.

For what seemed like hours, but was really just minutes, Rapunzel stared at Jack's exposed member until she raised a hand slowly and wrapped her fingers around it. Rapunzel massaged Jack's member gently, but with enough pressure to get him even harder, and it wasn't long before she opened her mouth as wide as possible. Another moan came out of Jack's mouth as Rapunzel brought his member into her own hot and hungry mouth, and she was quite careful not to bite as she did this. The princess moved her head up and down, mimicking the parry and thrust of if Jack were inside of her, and Rapunzel sucked his member slowly, with her tongue teasing, and her hands massaging too. Jack couldn't help but groan in disappointment as Rapunzel took her mouth off from his member and she licked her lips before raising her head to look up at the boy.

"Are you okay, Punz?" Jack asked, even though that was probably the dumbest question he could ask Rapunzel, since she had a smile now, which proved otherwise.

"Yes, Jack, I'm good," Rapunzel whispered as she continued to stroke his still hard member with her fingers. "I have to say, Jack, you tasted just fine." She added.

"Well, Punz, you should know this is my very first time having sex, so that's a pretty big compliment, but now it's my turn, so lay down for me." Jack commanded.

Rapunzel slowly gave a nod of her head as she took her fingers off Jack's member, then the girl literally crawled over to the fur rug that was right next to the fireplace. The princess laid down with her bare back on the rug, and she kept her eyes on Jack's nakedness as he turned around and got down on his knees like she did earlier. A smirk appeared on Jack's face as he crawled over to Rapunzel, but Jack took his own sweet time as he did this in a very slow pace, which teased Rapunzel very much.

"Jack, stop being so slow and get over here." Rapunzel commanded, and to the princess' relief, Jack did exactly as he was told, and his body was now on top of hers.

Rapunzel closed her eyes and tilted her head back as she felt Jack licking her neck and throat with his tongue, before he nibbled and nipped softly with his teeth. Jack moved down to do the same thing on Rapunzel's collarbone and shoulders as the girl ran her fingers in Jack's hair while letting out a few moans at the same time. The princess made several more when Jack squeezed both of Rapunzel's breasts with his cold hands before sucking gently on each of her nipples with his mouth. Jack eventually lowered his head to kiss all over Rapunzel's chest, but when he placed his lips on her belly and blew, Rapunzel couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Hahahaha, Jack, stop it!" Rapunzel commanded, but Jack continued to blow while keeping his hands on each side of Rapunzel's waist, giving her bare skin a chilly touch.

About half a minute passed before Jack finally stopped blowing on Rapunzel's belly and he caressed her legs up and down for a moment before spreading them apart. Rapunzel couldn't help but giggle as she watched Jack stretch his neck, but when she saw Jack lick his lips, Rapunzel didn't have to ask what he was going to do next. Jack bent low to bring his mouth to Rapunzel's honeypot, and he started to lick and suck onto it, causing the princess to moan in pleasure as she closed her eyes.

Rapunzel soon brought both of her hands on top of Jack's head and pushed him deeper inside of her honeypot while his white hair tickled the skin of her inner thighs. Much to her chagrin, Jack got himself free of her grip to come up for air, and his eyes never left Rapunzel's own as he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. All of a sudden, Jack positioned himself to have his member come inside Rapunzel's honeypot, but before he entered his manhood, Jack intertwined his hands with Rapunzel's own hands and brought them above her head.

"Are you ready, Punz?" Jack inquired, and when he saw Rapunzel nod her head quickly, Jack finally moved forward and slid his member inside of the girl's honeypot.

Jack moved his hips slowly as he thrust hard and deep with his member while Rapunzel wrapped both of her legs around Jack's waist and gripped him tight with them. Their foreheads touched briefly and they looked at one another as they rode each other up and down with their moans and groans of delight filling the air in unison.

"Say my name, Punz." Jack commanded, as he released his hands from hers and placed them on each side of her body. "Say it as loud as you can." He added.

"Jack!" Rapunzel shouted, and with her hands now free, she used one of them to scratch at his back, and she brought the other down to slap his bare butt.

Rapunzel and Jack were both breathing hard with their bodies and hair damp with sweat, and ecstasy washed over them as they finally reached their climax. Jack slipped out of Rapunzel's warmth as he collapsed right next to her, and they both took a moment to catch their breath before turning to face each other.

"Well, Punz, that was. . .great." Jack said, as one of his hands went under his head, while the other came down to her honeypot. "So, wanna go for round two?"

Suddenly, Rapunzel propelled herself in a upright position, startled and panting, while she felt beads of sweat clinging to her forehead at the same time. The princess took a few deep breaths to calm himself down as she wiped off the sweat from her forehead, then Rapunzel scanned the room around her. It only took less than a minute for Rapunzel to realize that she was still in her bedroom, not in the castle library like she had actually just been with Jack.

It was all just a dream, so there wasn't a pleasant ache between her legs, and when Rapunzel brought a hand up to her lips, they didn't feel bitterly cold. Rapunzel refused to believe that she had any sort of feelings for Jack or wanted to be with him just because they were very intimate in a dream of hers. It was nothing more than a fantasy filled with moments that would never happen, because Rapunzel already had someone that she could be close with.

Speaking of that certain someone, Rapunzel decided that Eugene shouldn't ever find out about her dream, and there was no reason why he had to know. They had already agreed to do a fun new hobby which won't include sex, since both of them knew that wouldn't get to happen until their wedding night. The last thing Rapunzel wanted was to have another argument with Eugene, especially because they were on good terms now, so she didn't want to ruin that.

"Punzie, you okay?" It wasn't until Rapunzel felt a hand on her bare shoulder that caused her to gasp, but Rapunzel soon relaxed as she turned to see who that voice belonged to.

"Yes, Eugene, it was just a nightmare," Rapunzel replied, as she put one of her hands over his, while hoping that her fiancé would believe her little white lie.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Eugene asked, and he knew the girl's answer immediately as she shook her head, and so he decided not to change her mind.

Eugene raised both of his hands to cup Rapunzel's face before he closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers and Rapunzel soon melted from the kiss. Rapunzel wasted no time in kissing him back, and Eugene's mouth felt nice and warm, which was a feeling that Rapunzel didn't share with Jack in her dream. Even though it only happened in her mind, Rapunzel didn't understand why she would even be intimate with Jack when she could get to enjoy a man's warmth for real until they were married and after.

Their kiss became a lot more heated and passionate, with their tongues dancing in each other's mouths, and Rapunzel's hands getting tangled in Eugene's hair. To the girl's chagrin, Eugene pulled away, but not because he didn't enjoy their kiss, which he really did, but Eugene didn't want them to get too carried away. Eugene shifted closer to one side of the bed so that he could pick up the clock that was on the drawer, since he wanted to know what time it was right now.

"Well, would you look at that, Punzie," Eugene said, before showing Rapunzel the clock, which had the small hand and big hand both pointing to the number twelve.

"It's midnight, perfect time to get a snack in the kitchen." Eugene added, then he returned the clock to its spot on the dresser before turning to face Rapunzel again.

"So, what's the quickest thing we can make without having to cook?" Eugene asked, and he kept himself quiet to give Rapunzel time to come up with a good answer.

Eugene knew that it wouldn't be too hard for Rapunzel to have one, considering that she spent more time cooking and baking up a storm in the kitchen than he did.

"We could always make some sandwiches," Rapunzel suggested to Eugene's delight. "I think there's still leftover cookies and strawberries in the pantries." She added.

"That all sounds great, Punzie," Eugene complimented, as he felt proud for letting Rapunzel think of something, then he pulled back the covers and got himself out of bed.

Rapunzel could obviously tell that Eugene was pretty confident about his body, since she noticed a smile had come to his face when he looked down at his naked figure as he turned around to face her again. Rapunzel bit her bottom lip as she took a moment to really admire Eugene fully bare, starting from his broad shoulders, then down to the muscles on his chest and belly, and finally, his manhood that was halfway up.

"Enjoying the view, Punzie?" Eugene asked with a light, cocky tone and a raised eyebrow as he saw Rapunzel take her eyes away from his body to look up at his face.

"Yes, I am, Eugene, and I hope you don't mind." Rapunzel said, and she almost felt like making a facepalm since she thought what she said just now sounded so silly.

"Oh, don't worry, Punzie, I never mind," Eugene replied before holding out a hand to Rapunzel. "Now, we won't get to the kitchen if you stay here in bed." He added.

Rapunzel gave a nod in agreement and gently took Eugene's hand as she got out of bed, but Rapunzel was completely taken by surprise from what happened next. As soon as Rapunzel was standing right in front of him, Eugene put his hands on the girl's waist and threw her over his shoulder before sauntering over to the door.

"Eugene Fitzherbert! Put me down this instant!" Rapunzel demanded while she tried to be as quiet as possible, but to her disappointment, Eugene did no such thing.

"Not a chance, Punzie." Eugene responded, as he opened up the door with his free hand, since the other was a little occupied with holding Rapunzel over his shoulder.

"Are you ever going to put me down?" Rapunzel asked, and she wouldn't admit it, but the feeling of Eugene's bare skin against her own was almost enough to send her soaring.

"Yes, but not until we've made it to the kitchen." Eugene answered as he closed the bedroom door. "I just don't want your feet to get tired from walking, that's all."

"I've walked to the kitchen many times before, Eugene, and my feet have never gotten tired, you're just saying that as an excuse to carry me naked." Rapunzel said.

"You caught me," Eugene replied and chuckled as he continued to walk through the hall. "I thought this would be a good benefit of our naked time." Eugene confessed.

Rapunzel had to admit Eugene did have a good point, since she currently had a good view of the man's bare butt, and there was nothing to stop her from touching it. Eugene couldn't help but gasp as he felt one of Rapunzel's hands gently slap one of his butt cheeks and he soon let out a moan when the princess began to squeeze it. Since he enjoyed this very much, a smile was on Eugene's face, and he didn't bother telling Rapunzel to stop, even when she did the same thing to his other butt cheek. At this moment, Eugene focused his attention on heading down to the kitchen, which he knew would be unoccupied, since Rapunzel had told him before that the servants didn't get up until six in the morning.

This gave the two of them more than enough time to enjoy a snack and return to their room, where they would presumably go back to cuddling like they had done earlier. When Eugene finally arrived at the kitchen, he stopped to think of whether one of the cooks locked the doors, but it didn't seem to be the case as he got in quite easily. Eugene thought it wouldn't be right for them to have their snack in total darkness, so he went over to a lamp and lit it with a match that he found in one of the drawers. Now that the kitchen was bright enough for the couple to see each other, Eugene carefully brought Rapunzel down from his shoulder, even though he didn't really want to.

"Alright, Punzie, we're finally here," Eugene declared before turning to face the pantries next to them. "So you said that we could make some sandwiches, right?"

Eugene's eyes widened as he looked down to see history repeating itself with Rapunzel running not just one, but both of her hands lightly down his muscular chest.

"You're so warm." Rapunzel whispered, and she smiled up at Eugene before reaching the part of him that would give her so much pleasure on their wedding night.

Rapunzel took a moment to marvel at the size, the girth, the sheer solidness of Eugene's manhood, which she believed made him definitely blessed in that regard.

"Sorry, Punzie, but you can't have that for a snack." Eugene informed, and Rapunzel quickly looked up and felt flustered as color shot up through her neck and face.

"Oh, it will be when we're married." Rapunzel replied playful, and hearing this caused Eugene's eyes to widen once more as a deep shade of red came to his cheeks.

"Until that happens, we can only have a snack that's an actual food, and not a body part of ours." Eugene reminded before bringing his attention back to the pantries.

Rapunzel couldn't help but giggle from hearing Eugene say that, since it sounded a little funny to her, even though Eugene had been serious the whole time he said it.

"Alright then, let's make some sandwiches." Rapunzel declared before opening up one of the pantries. "Eugene, why don't you check the icebox for meat and cheese?"

"Sure thing, babe." Eugene answered, and he walked over to the icebox, but not before using a hand to pat Rapunzel on her buttocks, which got her flustered again.

Rapunzel smirked as she began searching for the things they'll need to make their sandwiches, and luckily, it didn't take long for the princess to find a loaf of bread. Rapunzel also found a plate of cookies and a bowl of strawberries, and she carried each of them over to the island to avoid dropping them all and causing a big mess. Once that was done, Rapunzel brought her attention back to Eugene, who was still searching in the icebox, which meant she was being given a good view of his backside.

Even though Eugene had made it pretty clear they couldn't have a body part for a snack, Rapunzel wondered what it would be to so much as kiss the man's butt cheeks. Eugene didn't make any complaints when Rapunzel slapped and squeezed them on their way to the kitchen, so it probably wouldn't break their agreement to kiss them. Despite the fact there was a chance that Eugene might turn her down, Rapunzel knew that she'd never get to find out his answer if she just kept on thinking about it. When Eugene finally found what he was looking for, he closed the icebox and walked over to the island, where he set both the meat and cheese down before facing Rapunzel.

"It looks like we got everything we need. . ." Eugene said as he took a glance at all the food they put on the island. "Wait, we should have a knife to cut them in half."

As Eugene quickly went to the drawers and searched for a knife long enough to cut their sandwiches, Rapunzel took a glance at all the food Eugene got from the icebox. Not only did Eugene bring half a dozen of assorted cheese triangles to the kitchen island, but he also brought a few types of meat, such roast beef, turkey, and ham. Rapunzel was obviously impressed that Eugene didn't get just one of each food item, and she thought it was sweet of him to do that just in case she wanted to have more than one.

"Found it!" Eugene announced proudly, as he held up a big knife by its handle almost above his head, but not before he closed the drawer from which he found it from.

"That's great!" Rapunzel exclaimed happily, since she knew that Eugene wouldn't fail in finding one, and then she took two slices of bread from the loaf she got earlier.

"So, do you want to go ahead and make a sandwich for yourself or should we make one for each other?" Rapunzel asked, while thinking it was fair to give him a choice.

"Let's make a sandwich for one another, and I suggest that we each keep our eyes closed as it's being made, so that way, what's in it will be a surprise." Eugene replied.

"That's such a good idea, Eugene!" Rapunzel said, as she started to believe that keeping the food in their sandwiches a secret would help making them a little more fun.

"As the saying goes, ladies first." Eugene responded, then closed his eyes, but not before sitting down on a nearby stool to give his feet some rest from all that walking.

Before she got to work on his sandwich, Rapunzel gave Eugene a quick kiss on the cheek for being a gentleman, and this obviously caused a smile to appear on his face. Using the knife that Eugene found for them, Rapunzel carefully cut two slices of bread from the loaf she found, then laid them down right next to each other on the counter. Rapunzel was about to pick up a few meats and cheeses when she stopped to glance at Eugene before taking a bit of time to consider how he would want his sandwich to look. Would Eugene actually approve of the sandwich Rapunzel made for him if he saw that all the food was just tossed and thrown onto the bread, and not folded neatly?

The couple wasn't really in a rush to go back upstairs to bed and they didn't need to worry about being caught either, since the servants weren't going to come down for several more hours. Rapunzel figured that it wouldn't matter to Eugene how his sandwich looked anyway, but she still wanted to take the time and put her skills in the kitchen to good use. The princess folded up some roast beef before putting it onto one slice of bread, then she used the knife to cut a slice of cheese from one of the six assorted triangles. After she had done this, Rapunzel put the slice of cheese on top of the roast beef, and she repeated this routine all over again with turkey and another slice of cheese.

Rapunzel did the routine one more time with ham and a final slice of cheese, before finally completing the meal by placing the other slice of bread on top of all the food. She decided to let Eugene have the chance to cut his sandwich by himself, but Rapunzel still thought his sandwich needed some sort of finishing touch before he ate it. Rapunzel quickly went over to the pantries one more time to look for a bottle of olives, then she searched carefully through a few of the drawers to find a toothpick. Once she had found what she was looking for, Rapunzel took a single fresh olive out of the bottle, skewered it onto the toothpick and stuck it in the center of Eugene's sandwich.

Rapunzel was about to tell Eugene to open his eyes when she remembered that he was a prince, so she believed that his sandwich needed to be served with that in mind. For what would presumably be the last time, Rapunzel went to the drawers, but instead of taking any sort of food, she pulled out a freshly clean white china plate. The princess slowly picked up Eugene's giant sandwich and put it onto the shiny plate, then finally, Rapunzel placed the plate in front of her soon-to-be husband.

"Alright, Eugene, you can open your eyes now." Rapunzel permitted, and right when the man had done just that, she gestured to his sandwich with both of her hands.

"Your royal snack. . .my prince." Rapunzel said as she presented Eugene's sandwich while looking at him with half-lidded eyes, since she was trying to turn him on.

It seemed to be the case with Eugene's eyes never leaving Rapunzel's eyes as he scooped up the sandwich from the plate, with his fingers sinking into the soft bread.

"I'm sure that the wait will be well worth it." Eugene predicted, before bringing the sandwich closer to his nose and taking a whiff of all the food that was inside of it.

A smile formed on Eugene's lips and he closed his eyes just as he finally took a bite of the sandwich, which led to the smile currently on his face getting much bigger.

"Wow, Punzie, this is really good!" Eugene exclaimed, but not before he opened his eyes and looked at Rapunzel again. "I'm glad that you took your time." He added.

"Thanks, Eugene, I'm happy that you like it!" Rapunzel shouted gleefully, as she went closer to Eugene and planted a warm kiss on his cheek to show her gratitude.

Rapunzel couldn't help but sneak a glance at Eugene's belly and manhood while she pulled away after kissing him, since she could never resist looking at his body.

"Like what you see, my princess?" Eugene asked in a cocky tone as he raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side, causing Rapunzel's face to quickly turn red.

Rapunzel had assumed that Eugene would simply return to eating his sandwich and be too busy doing that to even notice what she did, but clearly, she was wrong.

"Don't be embarrassed, Punzie, you can look at my body as long as you want, since that's always going to be a perk when we have naked time." Eugene reminded.

Rapunzel sighed in relief from what Eugene just told her, and she almost literally made a facepalm for forgetting that he didn't mind it when she looked at his figure.

"So, Punzie, do you mind if I finish this delicious sandwich that you just made for me, or should I get to work on making yours right now?" Eugene asked curiously.

When Rapunzel didn't respond back to him instantly, Eugene could tell that she was only taking some time to think of an answer, so he kept himself absolutely quiet.

"You should finish the rest of your sandwich, Eugene, since you did say it tastes good, and once you're done, then you can make my sandwich." Rapunzel answered.

Eugene smiled and nodded his head at Rapunzel and then he was about to take another bite out of the sandwich when an idea came to his mind, causing him to think. Although he thought it was very nice of Rapunzel to let him finish his sandwich, Eugene didn't think it was right to make Rapunzel wait for the next several minutes. He wondered if he should just share his sandwich with Rapunzel, since he'd only taken one bite so far, and they could be able to get to the cookies and strawberries for dessert much sooner.

"Hey, Punzie, how about we just share mine? There's plenty of the sandwich for you, and you wouldn't have to wait a long time to eat something." Eugene suggested.

"Are you sure, Eugene? If I'd known that you didn't mind sharing a sandwich, then I would've made one bigger for the two of us, but if you insist. . ." Rapunzel said.

"Yes, Punzie, I'm sure," Eugene assured confidently, as he took a hand off from holding the sandwich and gently placed it on top of Rapunzel's hand on the island.

Rapunzel stayed quiet as she gazed in Eugene's eyes for a bit before walking away to pick up a stool, which she carefully put right next to the one he was sitting on.

"Well, Punzie, I'm positive that you'll like this sandwich too, since you made it yourself." Eugene reminded, before bringing the sandwich closer to Rapunzel's mouth.

Eugene made sure to be holding the sandwich with both hands, because he didn't want to risk dropping the sandwich and letting Rapunzel miss out on eating it too. Rapunzel took a bite of the sandwich, but it wasn't too big so that Eugene could be able to have another bite, and it wasn't too small since she wanted to actually taste the sandwich. The princess eventually closed her eyes as she continued to chew on the meat and bread in her mouth, and a smile appeared on her face as she felt proud knowing this sandwich was made by her.

What Rapunzel didn't know or couldn't see with her eyes shut was that Eugene had been ogling at her boobs for a while, which led him to think of what it would be like to taste them in his mouth. Although Eugene remembered what he said earlier about not having a body part of theirs for a snack, he couldn't help but wonder if it wouldn't be so bad to bend the rules for just one time. Eugene definitely believed that Rapunzel wouldn't hesitate to go through with that too, considering the fact he's already caught her checking out his body twice so far.

Eugene would make sure to ask Rapunzel, but only when she was done with eating that part of the sandwich and he also had her complete and undivided attention. Of course, this meant Eugene had to continue staying quiet and wait a little bit longer, but he didn't mind at all, since it gave him time to keep staring at Rapunzel. He couldn't help but find it so adorable how Rapunzel ate that chunk of sandwich, with the way that her mouth moved, and there being a smile on her face as well.

"I'm really proud of myself right now," Rapunzel declared, but not before finally swallowing that sandwich piece. "Just so you know, that explains why I was smiling."

"I'm glad to hear that, Punzie, but after we're done sharing this sandwich, maybe the two of us could enjoy a treat that we've never had before." Eugene suggested.

"What would this treat be, Eugene?" Rapunzel asked, and even though she probably knew what Eugene had in mind, she still wanted to hear it from him to be sure.

"Each other." Eugene announced, and hearing this caused Rapunzel's eyes to widen, but before she said something, Eugene held up a hand so that he could explain.

"Yes, Punzie, I know what I said, so it might be wrong to have sex before our wedding, I don't think it would be so bad for us to taste one another." Eugene clarified.

Although Rapunzel still remained a bit wide-eyed, a smile appeared on her face again, since she was pleased to know she'd get to kiss Eugene's butt cheeks after all.

"Aren't there going to be some rules or conditions first, because I think that's necessary if we're going to be tasting each other without having sex." Rapunzel advised.

Eugene gave a nod in agreement, but before he said anything, he put the sandwich down on the island, since he didn't want to risk dropping it onto the floor below.

"You're right, Punzie, so that's why this right here is off limits," Eugene said as he pointed to his manhood at the same time. "The same goes for that too." He added.

When Rapunzel noticed Eugene move his finger towards her, she brought her head down to realize that Eugene was pointing at her honeypot when he said the latter.

"Okay, Eugene, I know what you mean by that, and I agree with you. We should wait on getting to know what they feel like until our wedding night." Rapunzel replied.

"Since we agree on that, I guess we shouldn't waste any time in finishing this sandwich right now." Eugene advised, as he picked up the sandwich from off the island.

"In that case, Eugene, it's your turn to take a bite, because I took the last one." Rapunzel reminded, since she wanted to stick to them taking turns eating the sandwich.

Rapunzel's eyes soon widened because it was only a few seconds before she saw Eugene quickly take a bite out of the sandwich and bring it closer to her mouth again. Right then and there, Rapunzel knew that Eugene was in a hurry to finish off the rest of the sandwich so they could move on to the next activity during their naked time. Fortunately, the princess didn't feel like complaining, since she was looking forward to it just as much as Eugene, so she didn't hesitate to take a big bite of the sandwich. For practically the next several seconds, Eugene and Rapunzel took turns eating the sandwich until it was all gone, and both of their stomachs now felt comfortably full.

"Alright, Punzie, now it's time for us to taste each other." Eugene declared with a smirk, and Rapunzel couldn't resist letting her cheeks blush heavily from hearing that.

Rapunzel was about to respond when she turned her head to notice the plate of cookies and bowl of strawberries, both of which were still untouched on the island.

"Well, Eugene, I don't think that we should let any of that food go to waste." Rapunzel mentioned, while using a hand to point toward the cookies and strawberries.

When Eugene turned his own head and slightly raised it to see the food Rapunzel was pointing at, the expression on his face changed to a grin as he got off the stool.

"You're right, Punzie, but first, I think we should get of the rest since we've already used it." Eugene responded while moving around to another side of the island.

Rapunzel kept her eyes on Eugene's bare torso as he picked up all the meat in one hand and all the cheese triangles in the other, then he put all of it into the icebox.

"You found this bread in one of the pantries, right?" Eugene asked, but not before tying up the plastic bag that the loaf of bread was in and holding it up for Rapunzel.

Rapunzel had been so focused on looking at her future husband's unclothed broad chest and admiring it, she didn't even bother to hear what Eugene just said to her.

"Hey, Punzie?" Eugene said before smacking the loaf of bread down onto the island once, and luckily, it successfully managed to get Rapunzel to look up at his face.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Eugene, did you say something?" Rapunzel inquired, as she assumed that was the case, since Eugene wouldn't try to destroy the bread for no reason.

"Yeah, I did, Punzie, and I was asking if you found this bread in one of the pantries, because you never told me and I didn't see you find it earlier." Eugene reminded.

"I found the bread in that pantry right there, Eugene." Rapunzel answered as she pointed to one of the drawers, but she wasn't actually sure that it was the right one.

"Which one, Punzie, because they all look so similar. Maybe you should come over and show me, since you've used this kitchen more than I have." Eugene suggested.

"I'm sorry, Eugene, if I knew that you were going to put the bread back, I should have left the drawer open for you." Rapunzel said as she got up off from the stool.

"No, Punzie, you don't have to apologize. . ." Eugene trailed off as Rapunzel's bare form came into his view as soon as she walked around the island towards him.

"Eugene, do you still want to know which pantry I found the bread you're holding or do you want to keep drooling over my body right now?" Rapunzel asked curiously.

Fortunately, Eugene had managed to hear everything Rapunzel just said to him, and he quickly brought his head up to face her and gave a sheepish grin on his face.

"Who says that I can't do both?" Eugene asked, before the sheepish grin was replaced with a smirk, and Rapunzel suddenly snatched the loaf of bread from his hand.

"Pay attention." Rapunzel instructed, but when she noticed Eugene bring his head down to stare at her body again, she knew that she had to be a bit more specific.

"On the bread as I put it back into the pantry." Rapunzel clarified as she held up the loaf of bread high enough so that Eugene couldn't see any part of her body now.

"Sorry, Punzie," Eugene apologized genuinely, but not before he had brought his eyes back up to her face, and she had brought the loaf of bread down from his sight.

Using her other hand, Rapunzel opened up each of the pantries until she found one that had enough space for the loaf of bread, and so she placed it into the pantry. After she had done that, Rapunzel closed the other pantries before turning to face Eugene, who she was surprised to see hadn't been checking out her body like earlier. Even though she hadn't told him yet, Rapunzel wasn't upset with Eugene for not being able to take his eyes off her body, since it was actually hard for her to do the exact same thing.

Rapunzel couldn't help but let her mind wander off and imagine all the other things that her and Eugene would get to do in their naked time besides enjoying a snack in the kitchen. Since painting was one of Rapunzel's many fun hobbies, she'd really love to do a picture of Eugene in the nude, but she thought it would be best to have it done in their bedroom. Rapunzel didn't think that Eugene would mind going through with it, but she knew that she'd never be able to find out his answer if she just kept on thinking about it.

"So, Punzie, am I forgiven, because if not, I can prove it by putting the bread into the pantry myself, or by doing something else you want me to do." Eugene suggested.

"I was never mad at you, Eugene, so you don't have to do anything, but there is something that I hope you won't mind doing for me some other day." Rapunzel replied.

"It involves our naked time, doesn't it, Punzie, because I saw a smile on your face not long after I apologized, so I know that you'd been thinking just now." Eugene said.

"Yes, Eugene, it does, and even though I'm sure that you'll probably say yes, I just wanted to know if I could do a painting of you in our bedroom." Rapunzel requested.

"Of course you can, Punzie." Eugene answered to Rapunzel's delight. "Besides, it'd give you something good to look at when I'm not around." He added in a cocky tone.

Rapunzel was torn between whether giving Eugene a hug for agreeing to her idea or playfully slapping him for what he said after that, so she decided not to do either.

"Don't tell me, Punzie. I haven't come up with anything myself, and I know how much you love painting, so you're hoping to do it tomorrow night?" Eugene guessed.

The princess really wanted to throw her arms around Eugene and give him a kiss right now, since he literally just read her mind, but she remembered their agreement. Even though they agreed not to have sex until their wedding night, Rapunzel was worried that she'd get carried away kissing Eugene and they'd end up doing it right here in the kitchen. Rapunzel had started to wonder if it was such a good idea for them to taste parts of each other's bodies, or even use the leftover cookies and strawberries as a part of that activity.

She really didn't want their naked time to come to an end, especially since this was their very first time, but she didn't want it to include a certain activity that's meant to be done on a very important occasion. All of sudden, Rapunzel's eyes widened as she realized that she never actually gave an answer to Eugene's question, so she thought it was best for her to do that right now before he started to think that something was wrong. Rapunzel believed that would still happen anyway once she told him that she wasn't sure about going through with it.

"Yes, Eugene, that's exactly what I was thinking." Rapunzel responded before making a smile on her face, and she was relieved to see Eugene smile right back at her.

"Great," Eugene said, then he walked over to the island and carefully picked up the bowl of strawberries with one hand and the plate of cookies with the other one.

"Ready to put this food to good use?" Eugene asked with a raised eyebrow, but he quickly knew Rapunzel didn't feel the same from the frown that was now on her face.

"I've been thinking, Eugene. Maybe we shouldn't taste each other bodies, and just have the cookies and strawberries and then go back upstairs." Rapunzel requested.

"Why, Punzie? I thought you were looking forward to it, and I recall you didn't seem so hesitant about the idea when I suggested it to you earlier." Eugene reminded.

"I know, Eugene, but what if we risk breaking our agreement not to have sex if we go through with it? Are you sure that we won't make a mistake?" Rapunzel asked.

After taking a bit of time to think about it some more, Eugene now believed that Rapunzel did have a good point; there was a very good chance that they could get carried away. This caused Eugene to remember the kiss they had before coming down here, from feeling Rapunzel's hands in his hair as well as each other's tongues in their mouths. Eugene couldn't help but smile again as he replayed the memory in his head, but quickly stopped himself from doing it more than once so he could answer Rapunzel's question.

"Honestly, Punzie, I can't be too sure about that. Maybe we will, but I know we won't if neither of us give in to any urges we'll have along the way." Eugene answered.

Rapunzel had to admit that Eugene was right about the last part; the two of them would definitely feel a urge to have sex if they went through with the sexy activity.

"Another thing I do know is that I've had a lot of fun even before we came down here, so I don't want this night to end just yet, but do you, Punzie?" Eugene asked.

"Of course not, Eugene, I've been having so much fun just like you, and you're right, we won't break our agreement if we resist any urges we'll have." Rapunzel replied.

"So, Punzie, are we doing it?" Eugene asked before patiently waiting for his nude fiancée to give him any sort of answer, and she eventually did with a nod of her head.

"Yes, Eugene, but only on one condition," Rapunzel said before carefully taking the plate of cookies and the bowl of strawberries from him. "I get to go first." She added.

Eugene had been prepared to be a gentleman to Rapunzel and say 'ladies first', but instead of saying that, he smiled at her while nodding his head before speaking again.

"In that case, Punzie, should I lay on my back or my stomach on the island?" Eugene asked, as he thought it was fair to let Rapunzel decide what his position should be.

"The servants will never use this island if they find out what we used it for." Rapunzel responded before she took a glance at the island which was big enough for them.

"Punzie, the only way they'll ever find out is if we tell them ourselves, but we're not going to do that, since we want them to still make our meals, right?" Eugene asked.

If the two of them could keep their naked time a secret from her parents, then they could surely keep a secret from the servants about how they used the island tonight.

"You're right, Eugene, so anyway. . ." Rapunzel said as she started thinking of which position she'd like Eugene to be in. "Please lay on your stomach for me." She added.

"As you wish." Eugene answered, before moving around the island until he stopped at one of the stools, and he climbed onto the top of it carefully since it wasn't so big.

Rapunzel couldn't resist enjoying Eugene in the buff once again, as she watched her fiancé step off from the stool one foot at a time and on top of the island cautiously. The only parts of Eugene's body that Rapunzel was sure she'd never get tired of looking at were his muscular chest and belly, his cute butt, and finally, his solid manhood. Just when Rapunzel was almost at the point of drooling over those body parts of Eugene's, Rapunzel remembered that she was still holding food in each of her hands. Even though there wasn't food in her hands literally, Rapunzel knew it was important for their next activity, so she didn't want to drop any of it and make an awful mess.

Rapunzel made sure to keep a firm grip on the bowl of strawberries and plate of cookies, but not before bringing her head down to check that nothing fell onto the floor. By the time that Rapunzel had brought her head back up, Eugene was already laying down comfortably on his stomach on the island with both of his arms under his chin. Since Eugene's body took up most of the island's space, Rapunzel decided to put the cookies and strawberries on the counter, so that Eugene wouldn't knock them over. To the princess' delight, all of the strawberries inside the bowl had been cut into numerous pieces, which meant that Rapunzel could be able to use as many as she wanted.

"Before I start, Eugene, there's one thing that I'd like to know first," Rapunzel said, and she waited until Eugene had turned his head to face her before speaking again.

"How long can I do this?" Rapunzel asked, and although she wanted to enjoy her turn, she didn't want to take too much time and not give Eugene a turn for himself.

"The servants don't wake up until six, but we do have to get back to bed at some point, so how about we each have a turn that lasts half an hour?" Eugene suggested.

"Half an hour! Eugene, are you sure that you can wait that long for your turn?" Rapunzel asked, even though she did appreciate that Eugene was being so generous.

"If we're going to do this activity, Punzie, then I want you to have as much time as possible to enjoy it, and besides, I really don't mind." Eugene answered sincerely.

From the look on his face, Rapunzel could tell that she wasn't going to change his mind, not that she wanted to, and she thanked Eugene by giving a smile and a nod.

"Okay, Eugene, but could you please do more thing for me?" Rapunzel asked, but not before taking a few strawberries out of the bowl. "Close your eyes." She added.

"Of course, my princess." Eugene replied, as he did exactly what Rapunzel told him to do while bringing his head forward with a smile on his face for the whole time.

Rapunzel blushed a little as she slowly walked closer to the island, or more specifically, closer toward Eugene's butt, since that's the body part she wanted to enjoy first. The smile on Rapunzel's face grew even bigger as she continued to admire her future husband's body while slowing raising the hand that held the cut up strawberries. She brought that same hand above Eugene's toned buttocks, and just when Rapunzel was about to drop all the strawberries and let them fall, a loud voice stopped her.

"Rapunzel! Mr. Fitzherbert! What on earth do you think you're doing?" The voice asked, and this caused Eugene's eyes to widen and quickly roll himself off the island.

What Eugene didn't realize was that he rolled over to the side where Rapunzel was standing, and this led to Eugene bringing her down with him on the floor as he fell.

"I'm so sorry, Punzie! Are you hurt?" Eugene asked, as he didn't bother to enjoy the feeling of Rapunzel's bare skin against his own with her being on top of his chest.

"No, Eugene, I'm fine, but I don't think that sounded like one of the servants just now." Rapunzel responded, while starting to dread of who was here with them now.

"Both of you get up from the floor and show yourselves at once!" Another voice commanded, and Eugene let Rapunzel do that first before he got himself off the floor.

Once the couple stood on their feet, Rapunzel suddenly went behind Eugene's body to cover herself, while Eugene used both of his hands to cover up his manhood.

"Mom? Dad? What are you doing down here?" Rapunzel asked frantically, as she noticed her parents were in their nightclothes and had an angry look upon their face.

Rapunzel and Eugene had become a lot more embarrassed when they saw a small group of about four guards, with two standing right next to each furious monarch.

"We could ask you the exact same thing, dear. We went to your room to check on you earlier, and we panicked when you're weren't inside. We spent who knows how long looking for you, and now I'm not sure if we're happy to see you and Eugene here in the kitchen, so perhaps one of you could explain." Queen Primrose requested.

Eugene and Rapunzel looked at each other for a moment before she saw Eugene nod his head to let her know that he'll be the one to tell her parents the truth.

"We had a fight, Your Majesty, and it wasn't about us having a bath like I told you. It was about us having sex before our wedding, and since we've seen each other naked, I thought it would be fun for us to do a lot of hobbies in the nude until the day we're married." Eugene explained while still covering up his manhood with his hands.

"When exactly were you planning to tell us about this new little hobby?" King Thomas inquired, before telling a guard to bring back two robes for the young couple.

"We weren't actually going to tell either of you about it; in fact, the two of us were hoping to keep it a big secret, even after we got married too." Eugene confessed.

"Well then, we're certainly not going to keep all of this a secret from you, from now on, you'll be sleeping in separate bedrooms, you'll have a guard posted to your door every single night until the day of your wedding so you won't get to do this naked hobby anymore, and you'll also have a guard with you everytime that you're together." Queen Primrose declared.

"Mom, that's not fair!" Rapunzel shouted, and everybody in the kitchen, from both of her parents, to the guards, and even Eugene was surprised from her outburst.

"Fair? What about lying to us, going behind our backs to use our home for your scandalous hobby and trying to keep it a secret. Is that fair?" Queen Primrose asked.

Rapunzel decided not to say anything back for both her sake and Eugene's, since she didn't want to risk getting her mother even more upset than she already was.

"I understand you two wanted to have fun, but you aren't ever going to do it this way, not even when you're married, do I make myself clear?" King Thomas asked.

Instead of saying a single word to the King and Queen, the only thing that Rapunzel and Eugene did was nod their head in agreement to them at the same time.

"Good." King Thomas said, and just after that word left his mouth, a guard had returned holding two robe, with one each meant for the young couple to put on.

Eugene and Rapunzel did just that when the guard handed them the robes, and Rapunzel's parents and the guards made sure to avert their eyes as it happened.

"Two of these guards will escort you back to your room, Rapunzel, while the other two here will escort Eugene to a room of his own." Queen Primrose instructed.

One guard led Rapunzel out of the kitchen while another stayed right behind her, and she didn't bother to look back at her parents or even Eugene when she left. She was upset for a lot of reasons, from not getting to be alone anymore when spending time with Eugene to both of her parents treating her like a child just now. All of a sudden, Rapunzel started to think about the dream she had earlier, the same dream that she lied to Eugene by telling him that it was nothing but a nightmare. From the dream catcher that Jack had given her to them being intimate in the library, the more that Rapunzel thought about every part of it, the more that she started to smile.


End file.
